Hot Blooded (20 page)

“You look amazing,” Sammi said from her spot next to Shara on the sofa. “What do you think?”

Iona looked down at herself. “I like the clothes. I like the way they make me feel. I like how they feel on.” She looked back up at the three women staring at her. “I want this.”

Jane tucked her auburn hair behind her ear, her amber eyes alight with glee. “There's more. I'm dying to see what you choose next.”

Iona had a hitch in her step as she returned to her room. All the anxiety she had was gone. She looked at the clothes—and her blossoming friendships—with new eyes.

*   *   *

Laith had a difficult time paying attention to his customers. He didn't want to be at the pub. He wanted to be at Dreagan waiting to see what Rhys would decide, but he was also hoping Iona would visit. He tried to distract himself, but every time the door of the pub opened, he expected Iona or someone from Dreagan with news.

The dinner crowd packed The Fox & The Hound, and he found his temper running short. Laith walked to his office for a break and sank into his chair with a sigh. He dropped his head into his hands and wondered if the Kings had missed something when fighting the Dark Fae recently.

Con was sure Ulrik had managed to align the Dark and the humans to go against them. It made sense, especially since MI5 had sent Denae into Kellan's cave hoping that he would attack her and they would have footage of it. Kellan didn't attack Denae, but it hadn't stopped MI5 from doing their utmost to get onto Dreagan.

Then there was the Dark Fae. They had taken more risks in the past few months than they had in thousands of years. What was their hurry all of a sudden? Why had they lowered themselves to work with the humans, who they considered nothing more than entertainment and food?

If Ulrik was doing all of this, why hadn't the Kings seen anything from the dozens of cameras installed around The Silver Dragon in Perth, where Ulrik lived and worked?

Many of the times the Kings had been attacked, Ulrik had been inside his antique shop. At least the cameras hadn't caught him leaving. No Dark Fae were seen in the store, nor could the Kings match faces from visitors to any of the mercenaries they had run across.

Yet, if Ulrik got enough of his magic back to wound Rhys, he could easily hide himself long enough to evade the cameras watching him.

If Ulrik now had magic, it was only going to be a matter of time before he got it all back. Then all hell would break loose, because Ulrik would release his Silvers that were kept caged inside the mountain. With the Silvers loose, they would rain death and destruction upon the humans.

“Am I interrupting?” came a sultry voice.

Laith jerked his head up and spotted Shara leaning against the doorway. “No' at all.”

“There's someone on their way to see you. I thought you might want to be out there waiting for her.”

He tried to hold himself in check, but it was useless. He couldn't contain the excitement or anticipation. The delight. “Iona is coming?”

“She is.”

Laith was up and out of his chair in a flash. He pushed past Shara but made himself slow before he entered the front of the pub. His gaze scanned the occupants, but didn't see Iona's head of golden hair.

Then the door opened and his gaze caught on a vision of beauty that would be stamped in his mind for eternity.

 

CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE

Laith zeroed in on Iona as she paused just inside the pub while she looked around. As soon as she saw him, her amazing lips turned up in a smile that was as sexy as it was warm.

He was surprised to see her wearing something besides her solid-color tees and hiking pants. But he certainly enjoyed what he saw. The fluttery cream-colored shirt flowed around her gracefully and dipped low in the front so he saw the swell of her breasts, and the sleeves that trailed to her elbows were entirely of lace.

His gaze traveled lower to the khaki pants that hugged her legs and made them appear even longer down to the cream wedges. Laith leisurely let his eyes travel back up to her face where he spotted large gold hoops hanging from her ears.

He liked that she could appear feminine in hiking boots and jeans as well as decked out in heels and jewelry. No doubt she would be just as stunning without a stitch of clothes. How he wished he knew.

Laith started toward her, ignoring his name being called from the bar. After the day he'd had, he wanted something that could make him forget his troubles. That was Iona.

“Hi,” she said nervously when he reached her.

He couldn't help but smile. “Hi.”

“I read the letter. If you aren't busy, I was hoping we could talk.”

Laith only dimly remembered that they were in the pub and not alone. “No' here though. Give me a second.”

He left her standing there as he told his staff to handle things until Sammi arrived in a few hours. Then Laith grabbed his keys and hurried back to Iona.

“You look amazing,” he said as he put his hand on her lower back and guided her out the door.

By the way she beamed, his praise had been just what she needed. “Thank you. I can't take all the credit though. I needed to replenish my wardrobe, but I haven't been shopping in years. I happened to ask Sammi, and things went from there.”

Now he understood how Shara knew Iona was on her way. Laith was curious to hear what Shara thought of Iona, and if he knew Sammi, Jane had also been there. That was someone else he would have to talk to as well.

“They might have helped, but they're no' the ones wearing the clothes.”

Her dark eyes slid to him. “I can't remember the last time I felt so good in clothes.”

And he wanted to get her out of them. Laith walked her past her father's green Range Rover to his Audi R8. “Any particular place you want to go?”

“You choose.”

Laith opened her door and waited for her to climb inside before he closed it and walked around to the driver's side. Once he was behind the wheel, he smiled at her and started the engine.

The Audi purred as he started it. Laith backed up the car and pulled out of the parking lot onto the road as Iona leaned her head back in the seat and stared out the window to the darkness beyond.

“The letter was short,” she said into the silence.

“Did it help?”

She snorted softly. “In some ways, but not everything.”

“I thought perhaps you got all you needed since I didna see you.”

Her head turned to him. “It's a lot to take in. Every time I think I have a handle on things, I remember my father was murdered. Then I start thinking I'm seeing things.”

“Seeing things?” Alarms went off in his head at her words.

“Oh, it's nothing,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I think I put something one place when I find it in another. I'm trying to see every detail of things, and I know there's a possibility I could be in danger, so my mind plays tricks on me.”

Laith wasn't so sure of that, but he wouldn't say anything until he was sure. He didn't want her any more scared than she already was. He would do some investigating first. She had been through enough as it was.

Besides, Dreagan had failed John. He wouldn't allow that to happen to Iona.

He slowed the car and turned down a road that led to a secluded spot to lend them privacy. Laith suspected Iona had questions, and he wasn't so sure he could put her off anymore. They drove for another few minutes before he came to the gate and shut off the car.

“Where are we?”

“East of your place. It's abandoned, but I always found it a quiet place to go.”

She gave him a droll look. “You have sixty thousand acres. Why would you need this?”

“Everyone needs a place. Want to see it?”

Her smile was wide as she opened the door and got out. Laith followed suit and closed the door. They were parked toward the top of the hill, and it afforded them spectacular views of Dreagan.

“Come,” he said and held out his hand.

Iona took it, and he led her to the gate where they had to climb through it. He then walked her to the top of the hill where they could see lights from the few houses scattered before them.

“I wish I had my camera,” she whispered.

Laith was pleased. “I knew you would like this, but that's no' the only reason I brought you.”

“We could've returned to my place,” she said and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

He looked up at the moon and swallowed a moan. It took a few moments, but he was finally able to say, “You said you wanted to talk, and I'm providing a place that you can do that.”

Her forehead puckered in a frown. “So I couldn't talk at Dreagan? Or my home?”

“There are others at Dreagan, and I knew you wanted privacy.” So did he, for that matter.

“And my home?”

Laith inhaled deeply. “I'm sure it's fine.”

She held his gaze for long minutes, and then looked away as she shook her head. “My father's letter was vague about what I'm supposed to do. He told me that I have a secret to protect.”

“But he didna tell you that secret?”

“No,” she said, frustration lacing the word. She turned to face him fully. “He said he couldn't, that he hoped he would see me to tell me in person. He said it wasn't safe to put it on paper. He also said I could trust those from Dreagan. So I'm going out of my comfort zone and trusting you.” She licked her lips. “Laith, what was my father trying to tell me?”

Damn. He hoped John might find a way to tell Iona, but it appeared it fell on his shoulders. Just as he had prayed it wouldn't. Laith ran a hand down his face. “What else did the letter say?”

“He told me to watch the night sky, and I might get lucky enough to catch sight of something. I spent all of last night looking at the sky, but I didn't see anything except stars. Please. Tell me what my father couldn't.”

Laith was trying to find the right way to tell her. He couldn't just blab that he was a dragon. Iona would think he was daft.

“Can't you just tell me?”

“It's no' that simple.”

She briefly looked away. “Is it illegal?”

“Nay, but you'll have a hard time believing it.”

“I've seen a lot of things. I can handle whatever it is.”

He wasn't so sure of that. Where to start though? “I told you we have enemies. Some of them are no' mortal.”

“Not mortal?” she repeated with a deep frown. “You mean not … human?”

“Exactly.”

“That's not possible.”

Laith rubbed the back of his neck. “You've met two that are no' human already.”

“I think I'd know if someone wasn't human,” Iona said with a little laugh. “Who?”

“Rhi and Shara.”

She rolled her eyes. “Is that some kind of joke? Because it isn't funny. Those women were human or mortal or whatever you want to call them.”

“They're Fae. Light Fae to be exact, and trust me, they're no' mortal.”

Iona's face went slack. “Did … did you just say Fae?”

“Aye.”

“You're not joking,” she said as she began to breathe heavily.

“There are two kinds of Fae. Light and Dark. If the Dark are no' using glamour, they have silver and black hair along with red eyes.”

Iona bent over, her hand on her chest. “Shara has silver in her hair.”

“Her family is one of the most powerful of the Darks, but she left all of that behind to be with Kiril,” he explained.

Iona's head swiveled to him. “Why would a Fae want to be with a mortal?”

Laith held her gaze, waiting for her to answer her own question. He knew the moment it came to her because Iona paled and hung her head so that her hair covered her face.

“I'm going to be sick,” she whispered.

Laith moved so that he stood beside her and gently rubbed her back. He waited for her to shove him away, and was relieved when she didn't. “Breathe, Iona. It'll be all right.”

“My father knew?”

“He knew about us, but no' about the Fae.”

She took several deep breaths before she slowly straightened. Her face was pale under the light of the moon when she looked at him and asked, “What are you?”

“Your father told you to look to the skies, because that's when you'll see us in our true form.”

“You can't stop there.”

“It's a secret we've kept for thousands of millennia, and it's no' easy to say.” Laith looked into her dark eyes and found he was afraid to tell her.

If she reacted so harshly to learn that there were Fae, what would she do when she saw him in dragon form? Laith discovered he didn't want to find out.

“Laith, please. If I'm to carry on with what other Campbells have done, I need to know. You say my father knew, and obviously it's something important if he couldn't put it down on paper. I'm sorry for”—she made a motion with her hand—“a moment ago. I never considered there were other beings here with us.”

“This realm was originally ours,” Laith said. “We ruled it for thousands of years before the first human arrived. We were then commanded to protect humans.”

“Commanded?” Iona asked, interrupting him. “Ordered by who?”

Laith lifted a shoulder. “Our creator, of course. He created you as well.”

“What were you?”

He took a deep breath, hoping, praying that she didn't run away screaming. It wasn't just that she was a Campbell and needed to protect the doorway. It was because it would kill him if her beautiful eyes suddenly looked at him with disgust. “Your father should've told you this. The Campbells always hand down the information. I doona know what they say or how it's done.”

“I find it's best to keep things simple,” Iona said softly, a note of apprehension in her voice.

“We're dragons. Where do you think the myths came from?”