TheWaterDragon (5 page)

Adrain rushed into the room, prepared to fight for his mate and realized he had nothing to worry about. The man, evidently a healer of some sort, had his attention solely on Emily.

“You’re fine to go home, now, Ms. Appleton. You can even travel, if you’re of the mind. Just don’t do any skydiving.” He smiled at her and patted her shoulder.

The stranger handed Summer some papers. “Here are her discharge papers. Someone will be here shortly with a wheelchair to see you to the door.” Turning, he looked back at Emily. “No more fasting. See that you eat something every day.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Emily said, her face turning red.

Adrian followed the man from the room. “She will be fine, then?”

“Yes. She should be fine, just so long as she eats regularly. I’m afraid that she’s been doing without food because she hasn’t the money to pay for that and her medication.”

Glancing at the old woman, Adrian made a decision. She might not be any relation to him, but she was his mate’s friend. He would do whatever it took to find the dragon who claimed he was her mate and hope that the man hadn’t found another in the last fifty years. Once Emily’s life force was bound with that of her dragon mate, the aging process would slowly reverse and she would again be the beautiful vibrant young woman she had been so many years ago.

He didn’t know what it was about the people of this time, but where he came from one took care of their elders, and taking care of Emily Appleton was something he intended to do until she had her dragon to relieve him of his self-appointed duty.

He glanced into the room and decided to go break his news to them so Emily would have some time to get used to the notion. He had the idea that she was going to put up a fight. Afterward, he would leave and allow the woman to get dressed. She certainly wouldn’t appreciate a dragon as her audience when she began to disrobe.

Chapter Nine

“Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t eating?” Summer watched as Emily sat up in bed. She wrapped the sheet around her legs, letting her feet dangle a few inches off the floor. “I’m going to be really angry if you tell me it’s because you don’t have enough money. You know darned well that creep my sister married has more money than God.”

Drake wasn’t really a creep. Summer and the rest of her sisters, with the exception of April, called him that because he had all but imprisoned them in his home because of the photos someone mailed to his office a year or so ago. Just because she understood his reasoning didn’t mean she had to like it.
None
of them had to like it.

She looked at Adrian still in the hall who smiled at her. She smiled back, her heart softening even more when he winked at her.

“I could have brought food with me for my visits.” Her throat began to close up. “Was that the reason you’ve cancelled my lessons so many times? Did you think I wouldn’t come if you didn’t feed me? Did you think I would think less of you?”

Emily stared down at the floor and shook her head. “I’m a stubborn old woman. I like my teas the way I remember them. If I can’t have them that way, then I won’t have them at all.”

“Then you should have let me pay you for the lessons. I would have had to pay anyone else who taught me to knit and crochet.”

“I wanted to do it because I consider you my friend. Now, you’ll think less of me.”

“Emily…” Summer paused and moved to sit next to the older woman. Wrapping her arm around Emily’s shoulders, Summer squeezed. “I don’t think less of you. Everyone is having trouble making ends meet these days, unless they’re rich. I was having problems before Drake insisted we all move in with him. All of my sisters were having issues, as well. As a matter of fact, we had begun to talk about moving back to the farm to share expenses when April found her man.”

“Dragon. He’s a dragon.”

“Whatever.” Summer chuckled. “My point is, we could have worked something out if you would have told me.” She nudged Emily with her elbow. “Maybe we could have been housemates.”

They both looked up when Adrian walked into the room. “Once you are ready, we shall go.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked around as though he wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure how they would take what he was about to say.

“Wonderful. I can’t wait to get back home.” Emily shifted on the bed.

“You, young lady, will not be going home for anything other than to pack a bag.”

“Young lady?” Emily asked, then barked out a laugh. “I’m easily thirty years older than
you,
young man.”

Summer pressed her lips together. She knew that Adrian was ancient. In fact, it was one of the things she liked about him. He should definitely be more mature than the other guys she had dated throughout the years. She waited for him to answer, refusing to butt in on
this
conversation.

Adrian just tilted his head and smiled. “I’m a lot older than I look, Emily. As a matter of fact, I would hazard a guess that I am at least eleven millennia older than you.” He smiled at their expressions. “I’m a dragon, remember? We don’t age as quickly as your kind.”

Emily’s eyes grew round and Summer could almost see her reach the same conclusion as Summer herself—and at the same time.

“That…that means that Declan will still look the same as I remember him.” She smoothed her hair with shaking hands.

Summer knew what Emily was thinking. Though she only looked like a woman in her sixties, Emily was seventy-six years old. She scowled at Adrian. What did he think he was doing? He shouldn’t have told her that—not yet, at any rate.

Thinning her lips, she narrowed her eyes, stomped over to Adrian and grabbed his arm. “Come with me. Now!” She turned toward Emily and smiled. “We’ll be out in the hall while you dress. Just yell if you need anything.” She turned to Adrian with a frown. “Let’s go.”

Summer dragged him into the empty hall, turning on him as soon as the door closed behind them. “What in the world are you doing? Are you trying to make her feel worse? She already regrets turning her lover down all those years ago. Now you tell her he’s going to look just as young and vital as she remembers. Are you insane?”

Pausing, she stiffened at the implication of what he said. “Wait a minute. Does that mean that you’ll still look like this fifty years from now?” She waved her arm, gesturing to him. “And I’ll be an old woman?” How could she be falling in love with someone who didn’t age? How would she feel about looking like his mother in thirty years?

Summer began to pace. “I don’t know if I can handle living with you knowing that I’ll age while you stay looking so fricking hot.”

Adrian chuckled and Summer could have slapped him. How could he laugh at a time like this?

“Thanks for the compliment,” he added with a grin. “I can see how this would make you apprehensive, though you have nothing to worry about.”

Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against hers. “When we are bound together, our life forces will also bind together. At that time, you will age just as slowly as I do.”

“Oh.” Summer frowned again and bit her lip. “That’s good then, isn’t it? At least I won’t have to worry about people thinking that I’m your mother.” She wrinkled her nose. “Or worse. Think that I’m your
grand
mother.” She shuddered.

He kissed the tip of her nose and it made her tingle.

“
That
, my love, will never happen.”

Well, that was a relief. She frowned at his choice of words. Could he really love her so soon? She knew the dragons moved fast, but she also knew that she was ready for it. She’d been ready for it since April married Drake.

“It still doesn’t help Emily.”

“Of course it does.”

Summer tilted her head and crossed her arms. “How does this help her? She’s already an old woman and, as you said, he most likely still looks as young as you do.”

Moving to the door, Adrian leaned against the doorjamb and glanced down the hall. “As you know, dragon mates come along once in several lifetimes. Chances are that Emily’s mate has not found another, which leaves him open to claim Emily, if she will have him.” He rested his fingers over her lips when she would have interrupted. “Once they bond, his life force will demand she match him in every way. When that happens, his internal magical clock will begin to reverse the human aging process. After a while, she will look young again.”

“So it all hinges on whether or not he’s still unattached.”
Come on, Declan, you have to still be single.
Grabbing Adrian, she pulled him down for a quick kiss. “I think I just might love you.”

Summer moved to the door and pulled it open with a determined smile. He
had
to be unattached. That’s all there was to it.

Chapter Ten

Feeling closer to his mate than he ever thought possible, Adrian followed her down the corridor with a smile.
His mate.
And she thought she might love him. Just thinking about her brought a smile to his face. He watched as she entered Emily’s room, then came back out.

“It’s empty. She’s gone! Why would she just leave like that?”

Looking down into his mate’s pensive expression, the answer came to him. Emily, under the impression that her mate would no longer want a mate who looked older than he did, had chosen to run.

“Come with me. We have to catch her before she disappears,” he said as he grasped Summer’s arm. “We must beat her to her house or we could lose her.”

Together, they hurried from the hospital and into Damek’s limo that sat waiting for them.

Summer quickly wrote down Emily’s address and handed the paper to the driver. “We need to get to that address as quickly as we can, Waverly. We need to beat Emily home before she manages to hide from us.”

Damek’s driver didn’t hesitate. No wonder Damek sang the man’s praises on a regular basis. Adrian could only hope that, given enough time he, too, could manage to instill such trust and loyalty in those who worked for him.

He had no idea how long it would take to earn such trust. For the first time, he almost envied his brother the life he had while
he
had been in a prison of his own design. Sitting back, he took possession of Summer’s hand. Lacing his fingers through hers, Adrian brought her hand to his mouth to kiss the back of it.

“Thank you for your help, Waverly. I cannot tell you how much we appreciate your assistance.” Adrian wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn Waverly blushed. It was an odd thing for a middle-aged man to do.

“It’s nothing, sir. I can’t tell you how many times your brother has helped me out of tight spots. In fact, he’s saved my ass more times than I can count, or would care to mention, if you want to know the truth. It’s only fitting that I should do the same in return.”

So, that was what Damek had done to deserve such unfailing loyalty. For an instant, Adrian wondered exactly how his brother had saved Waverly’s ass, then deemed it unimportant. If it were anything very bad, the man wouldn’t still be working for Damek.

“After today, I shall be in
your
debt, Waverly. Think on that for a while, would you? I would like to know what you would accept as payment.”

“That’s easy,” the other man said with a chuckle. “My son needs a job. He’s a driver, like me. A damned good one, too. I’d have asked Drake to hire him, but it wouldn’t be good to have him work with or for me. He needs a different master.”

“Master? What’s he talking about?” Summer asked with a frown. “Don’t tell me you guys act like you own people.”

“Of course we don’t. Have you ever seen Damek or Drake treat any of their people like slaves? Of course you haven’t.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Miss Flowers,” Waverly interrupted. “What I meant was that it would do my son good to not have to work for me or to work for his father’s employer. It would be so much better for him to know the reason he has the job was because of his own record.”

“But it won’t be if you’re going to call in a debt to get him the job.”

Waverly grinned. “True, but he won’t know that unless we tell him, will he?”

“I suppose not.” She grinned back.

“Consider your son employed,” Adrian said as he looked through the window at the passing scenery. “Now all I need to do is get myself a car.”

“I’m sure your brother can help you with that, sir.”

“This is it. This is her street,” Summer said as Waverly turned the long vehicle down a narrow lane lined with small homes. She moved anxiously, as though springing from the vehicle would somehow mean the difference between finding her friend at home and not.

“Relax, little one. We will find her.” Adrian did his best to sound confident. He wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close. Unfortunately, it was the only comfort he could offer her.

What would they do if they found the old woman wasn’t at her home? What if she disappeared, willing to die alone rather than face the man who was her mate? Adrian berated himself for not better explaining this to Emily. He should have told her the odds of her beau having found another were less than slim to none.

Whatever happened to her now was his responsibility. He should have known better than to break the news to her the way he did. If the worst happened, he would have no one to blame but himself. The fault in this matter was completely upon his shoulders.

“Look,” he said, pointing to the open door and the suitcase sitting on the porch with the sleeve of a blouse sticking out between the seams. “It seems we haven’t beat her home, but we have managed to get here before she left.”

“What do we tell her?”

“We tell her the truth. We tell her that though she looks old now, that once she’s mated with her dragon, she will no longer look as though she’s in her mid-sixties.”

“She’s not, you know.”

“Excuse me?”

“She’s not in her mid-sixties. She’s in her mid-seventies.”