To Love a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (118 page)

“Let’s just say you’re more stubborn than the rest.”

“Ha-ha.  Very funny.”

“With this, you achieved your goal.”

“My goal?”

“You did say you wanted to be, and I quote for the fifty-seventh time, an ‘Evren warrior chick,’ didn’t you?”

His words pleased me so much I ran to hug him but stopped when my tail—my God, my tail—slapped against a Joshua tree, splitting it in half.

“Oops.”

Dyvian laughed again.
 “If you keep on doing that, there won’t be any trees left in the desert.”

“Very funny.”

Dyvian’s dragon form somersaulted in the air.  His eyes shone with brilliant fire against the darkness.  His golden scales glinted.

I laughed.  The natural form for Evren might not have been attractive by normal standards, but I’d have been first to admit it also came with a gloriously liberating sensation.

Taking a deep breath, I flew up to join Dyvian in the skies.  It took me a while to adjust to the idea of flying with wings, and then I was racing through the desert.  Dyvian followed shortly behind me, his chuckle rumbling out like a passing storm.  I flew above an oasis and almost fell into the water when I caught sight of my reflection.

I shrieked, then stopped because the sound was just…
nightmarish
.

Dyvian’s thunder-like laughter burst through the night.

“That was me, wasn’t it, Dyvian?”

“Yup, that was you, and your voice was enough to terrify even hyenas into hiding.”

“You won’t win American Idol with your voice either, you know.” 
The reflection on the water came back to me, and I had to say it. 
“I’m ugly, aren’t I?” 
Deep inside, I knew I’d be ugly like Dyvian was now, a fact I had planned to ignore.  But not anymore.

“Yup.”

Being ugly wasn’t a big deal and I knew it.  But I was also sixteen and knowing was different from feeling.  Seeing the actual extent of my ugliness was traumatic, but I controlled myself with an effort.  If I cried, my tears might be large enough to create a small flood.  If I stomped my feet, I might cause an earthquake.  Honestly, everything about Evren was so exaggerated.

~~~

Dyvian proceeded directly to the kitchen as was his wont.  Laziness and hunger seemed to work hand in hand with him.  Merely turning a page could make him tired and hungry.

I clambered up to my room for a quick shower.  On my way down, I spied light shining from underneath the door to Lucian’s study.  My heart skipped a beat.  He was back?

In the two weeks we had been “dating”, today was only the fourth time I was able to catch him at home.  I’d have liked to think it was just an awful coincidence, but his trips had become more frequent.  The trip to Tokyo had been followed by a sudden overnight stay in DV, and then early this week, he told us he had another “emergency.”

Where, he had been disinclined to reveal.

The door stood slightly ajar, and I tiptoed to it, not wanting to make noise as I peeked in.

Lucian sat behind his desk in the study.  I wondered what time he had gotten back and if he had missed me at all.  His fingers danced on the keyboard while he spoke on the phone in some foreign language.  He was brokering another multimillion-dollar deal, no doubt.  Didn’t any of his business associates mind that they were dealing with someone less than half their age?

He glanced up, saw my head poking through the slight gap, and smiled.

It was a dazzling smile.  I straightened, looked behind me to make sure Dyvian wasn’t around, and darted inside.  I locked the door.  Lucian’s eyes stayed on me as I made my way to him.  Shyness slowed my steps to a halting pace, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from moving toward him.

Giddiness swept over me.  I was excited to share with him my newly acquired, hard-earned warrior-chick status, excited to be with him, excited at the thought of kissing him again, and for a hundred more reasons.

He swiveled his chair to face me as I reached his side.  He stopped typing and spread one arm wide.  It was all the invitation I needed.  I sat on his lap and hugged him as tightly as I could.

I love you.

Lucian’s tone suddenly became distracted, and he was speaking quickly.  Then he was putting the phone down and his arms were going around me.  I sighed as our lips met.  His kisses always tasted sweeter than anything I imagined, and I couldn’t get enough of them, of him.

My fingers played with the curls in his hair, drifting slowly to his nape.  His kiss deepened.  It shocked me.  It thrilled me.  He usually played it cool, never letting our kisses last longer than half a minute, pulling away when things got too…heated.

And then, it was over.

I blinked, stunned and extremely unhappy to find us seated across from each other, his desk serving as a barrier between us.

“I want to kiss some more,” I complained.

He shook his head.  “Later,” he said but softened his rejection with a tender smile.

It was a rare sight, and I wished I had a camera handy to capture it.

He chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Err…nothing.”  He asked hastily, “How did your training go?”

“Fantastic,” I bragged with a grin.  “I’m sure Dyvian thinks I’m the best student he ever had.”

“You’re his
only
student.”

I waved his clarification away.  Really, he was too concerned about semantics.  “I’m a red dragon, do you know?”

He shook his head.

“Dyvian tells me our line’s supposed to be the best flyers of Evren.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, I’m not exactly the best yet but I’ll get there eventually.”  I caught sight of my reflection in the windowpane behind him and sighed.  “Now, I remember.  God, Lucian, we’re
ugly.
”

“Speak for yourself.”

“It’s true, Lucian, and it’s best you accept the fact.”  I clucked my tongue.  “Ignoring facts isn’t good, you know.”

“You being the best person to give that advice, of course.”

“It’s nice that you know.”  I agreed without an ounce of shame.  I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes in remembered bliss.  “Being Evren was so…amazing.  It was almost like how I’d imagine skinny-dipping would be like, but with scales—

Lucian choked.

“—and the
power,
Lucian.  It was incredible, knowing I was about twenty feet tall and able to swallow a person whole.”

“Gross thought,” Lucian said with a perfectly straight face, “but I understand your sentiments.”

“Ha-ha.  You know I didn’t mean it literally.”

“I’m pleased to hear it.”  He walked around his table, hands inside his pockets.  “I’ve something to tell you.”

I brightened.  “You’re going to tell me you’re in lo—”

“Deli.”

“It’s not that disgusting an idea.”

“Let it be, Deli.”  He pushed me toward the door.  “Now, let’s go join Dyvian in the kitchen.  We have something important to talk about.”

~~~

“There are only two reasons why Lucian would call for an emergency meeting,” Dyvian declared.

It was four in the morning.  He was freshly bathed and gobbling his way through steak and fries.  It had been a few hours since we had successfully concluded our training.  Lucian wanted to have the talk immediately, but Dyvian had insisted on showering and cooking himself an early breakfast first.

“What’s the first reason?”  I stole a fry from Dyvian’s plate and munched.

“All outcomes agree with him.”

Lucian rolled his eyes.

“And the second reason?”  I tried helping him spread butter on his toast, just like how a loving girlfriend would, but he batted my fingers away. 

“Only one outcome agrees with him, and he’s thought of a way to make us think it’s our idea to choose that outcome.”  Dyvian shrugged.  “Either way, he stays in control.”  He moved his chair closer to mine so he could whisper in my ear.  “Now do you understand just how bossy your boyfriend is?”

“Perfectly,” I tried to say coherently, having just taken a huge bite of my Philly cheese steak sandwich.

“Shut up, Dyvian.”  Lucian’s voice was as mild as a gentle wind, like it always was, making his rude words sound like a quote from the Bible.  He frowned at me.  “And you, don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Yes, sir.”  Dyvian and I saluted at him in perfect synchrony.

Lucian sighed.  “Must you two always be childish?”

I pretended to think.  “Umm…yes.”

“Tell you what,” Dyvian suggested.  “How about we reverse roles just for fun?  We’ll act like we’re 348 years old—”

Lucian’s eyes flashed, and I was scared we might have taken his even temper for granted.

“—and you act like a teenager for once?”

I waited for Lucian to snap but all he did was pat his mouth with his table napkin.  “Thanks, but no thanks.  Now can we talk seriously?  It’s about Davie.”

That effectively put a stop to our amusements.

“What have you found out?” I asked uneasily.  I still wasn’t completely convinced it was safe to leave Davie to the mercy of Zekans.

Lucian’s lips formed a grim line.  “It’s not good.  One of my sources had tipped me off about plans for Davie being moved out of the hospital.”

“She’s not in a coma anymore?”

“She still is, I’m sorry.  And that, in itself, makes the move suspicious.  I went there to find out more, and what I’ve learned is something that doesn’t just affect you or us but the entire Evren race.”