Tempting The Dragon

Her. He made a mental note to file that information away for later. Even though Jade sat silently, every fiber of his being vibrated with awareness of her.

“No,” he admitted. “And that’s the problem. Every time I mention her, people shut down. They act like I’m crazy or overly familiar.”

At this, Jade looked down. Her mother and grandmother continued to smile benignly.

“Why exactly do you want to know?” Opal asked. “And think carefully before you answer. This is important.”

“All I can do is give you the truth. I’m a fairly well-known photojournalist. I even have a couple of books under my belt.” Despite having appeared on various national news programs as well as several late-night shows, rarely did anyone recognize him. He preferred it that way. “Currently I’ve been traveling the world checking out stories of beasts like yours.”

“And have you found any you could report on?”

“Not yet.”

“I can’t quite place that accent,” Jade put in, her green gaze meeting his and sending another jolt straight to his groin. “Like my grandmother said, I can tell it’s Southern. Where exactly are you from?”

“Texas.” Which might be a short answer, but actually said everything there was to say. He’d learned people up north had some strange ideas about his home state. So far, he’d done as little as possible to disabuse them.

“Really?” Interest showed in Jade’s expression. “I spent a couple of summers there when I was younger. What part are you from?”

“Houston.”

“Oh. I spent more time in Dallas.” The soft lilt in her voice had him leaning in to hear her speak.

Just then the waitress arrived with the women’s lunches. This one stood short and was built like a truck—all muscle with a no-nonsense air about her. “Excuse me,” she said, bumping his shoulder with the edge of her tray. “I need to serve these ladies their food while it’s still piping hot.”

Of course he stepped aside. Five more seconds. If he could have had five more seconds, he would have found out if Jade was actually willing to talk to him about the lake creature.

Once their meals had been served, the waitress gave him a quizzical look and strode off.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped back from the table. While the polite thing to do would be to excuse himself and let them eat their meal in peace, no one had answered anything.

“Really, I don’t think you want to be interrupting our lunch,” Opal said, her mild tone nevertheless containing a hint of reproach.

“I agree,” Amber chimed in with an arch look and a frown.

“I’m sorry,” he began, focusing his attention on the woman he most wanted to speak with. Jade.

Face once again downcast as she cut up the chicken on her salad, Jade didn’t acknowledge his presence. The rigid set of her delicate shoulders spoke volumes of her disapproval.

He didn’t exactly blame her. Still, time was short and courtesy warred with necessity. “Darlin’, I just need a few seconds,” he began. “One quick question. Maybe two.”

“Please go.” Jade’s request, though delivered in a voice as smooth as silk, made the other two women freeze. “You may come by the house later if you’d like, but right now, we’re going to have our lunch. And you’re going to leave. Now.”

“I’m...” To his complete shock, he felt his body begin to back away without him moving it. His legs and feet were not under his control. Like a puppet maneuvered by invisible strings, he traveled toward the doorway, his hand even coming up to grasp the handle to open the door before continuing outside. It was the damnedest thing.

Witch. Now the elderly man’s words made sense. Sort of. He wasn’t entirely sure he believed in witches. At least, he hadn’t until this.

Finally, once he’d traveled half a block down the sidewalk, the compulsion released him and he nearly fell. Heart pounding, he stood stock-still, examining his hands and stomping his feet, just to be certain he could.

“A witch, huh?” Mystified and more than a little intrigued, he knew he’d definitely stop by their house later. As soon as he found out where exactly it might be. This witch angle might make an even better story than a fictional lake monster.

* * *

With her heart still beating way too fast, Jade Burnett took a deep breath. She reached up and took her Guardian necklace in between her fingers, a gesture that never failed to bring her comfort. “It was him,” she said, full of both giddy anticipation and, oddly enough, a nameless sadness. “The photographer who interrupted our lunch. I don’t know how, but I knew I’d meet that man someday. I kept seeing him in my dreams.” She blushed, aware she couldn’t tell them the sexual nature of those dreams. “I’d know him anywhere.”

Both of the older women simultaneously raised their elegant brows.

“He was a handsome devil,” Opal mused. “Those eyes—gray? Silver? They were unusual. He seemed a bit cocky and maybe even overconfident, though I like them that way myself.”

Jade could feel her face heat. “Me, too,” she admitted. The curse of her family’s uncommon beauty meant she’d need a man who could be strong enough to resist her. Plus with all the silly (and hurtful) rumors about her in town, any man who’d be willing to date her would have to have enough self-assurance to ignore them.

Her mother and her grandmother exchanged amused glances.

“You want him, don’t you, dear?” Opal asked.

Jade nodded. “Inexplicably, I do. I have, ever since I saw him in my dreams.”

“Then why’d you send him away?” Amber complained. “You know I want grandchildren. So far, you’ve done nothing to make me think I’ll ever have them.”

Though this was an old argument, Jade’s blush deepened. Children. She wanted kids of her own someday, too. Ruthless, she quashed down the quick flare of hope at the thought. “Please,” she murmured. “I just met him. Let’s enjoy our lunch. I’m sure he’ll show up at the house soon enough.”

Her mother nodded. “I hope you’ve been practicing your flirting skills because you’ll need to do something to keep him distracted.” It went without saying that Jade must protect Libby, the shape-shifting beast who lived in Forestwood Lake, from the prying eyes of outsiders. Especially a photojournalist.

Flirting skills. Right. Miraculously, Jade managed not to snort out loud. Instead, she dug in to her salad.

Finally, silence reigned while everyone focused on eating.

The house. Her home... Jade tried to picture the handsome man who’d visited her numerous times in her dreams actually being there physically. The thought made her shiver. She wondered if the house would accept him, then shook off the thought. Sometimes she thought of her family’s ancestral home as a living entity rather than just a building.

Stranger things had certainly happened. Hers was a family of shape-shifting werewolves who were Guardians to a mystical lake creature named Libby. Jade was the current Guardian, and ever since she’d been chosen, she occasionally happened to have the odd magical power. Her family turned a blind eye to these, preferring to pretend they didn’t exist, unlike the townspeople, who loved to watch and gossip.

Almost all of the town knew about Libby. Forestwood was made up of both Pack—shape-shifters who became wolves when they changed—and humans. The shape-shifters, like the rest of the Burnetts, preferred to ignore the magic. The humans, who had no idea that such a thing as shape-shifters even existed, accepted the fact of Burnett magic and considered Jade a witch. They appeared to be well aware that only Libby’s current Guardian had small magical powers.

They apparently were surprisingly okay with that. Sure, there was a lot of gossip and rumors. Women hated her due to her beauty, while men desired her. And made up odd, hurtful stories about her imagined sexual prowess.

None of it mattered, or so Jade told herself when a particular rumor caused her pain. The only matter of any importance was the way the entire town of Forestwood had silently pledged over the years to keep their lake creature a secret from outsiders. Jade more than anyone else appreciated that, since as Libby’s caretaker it made her job easier.

Except someone had apparently broken their pledge. Otherwise, how would the photojournalist have heard about her?

After lunch, everyone piled into Jade’s bright green SUV and they headed home. The sunlight shone through the vibrant green trees, dappling the ground with yellow. As she drove the winding roads heading home, Jade found herself holding her breath the same way she always did as she waited for the first sight of her family home.

Burnett House sat perched up on a hill, high enough to appear sitting sentinel over the entire town. Ancient trees cradled the Victorian-style structure and the corner lot had been fenced long ago with wrought iron. The original house had been built in 1803 by one of her ancestors, Floyd Burnett, who’d made it big in the steel industry. The Burnett family had lovingly occupied and taken care of the place, keeping it freshly painted and updated with the latest plumbing and wiring, not to mention granite countertops and modern appliances. The house had been featured in several magazines over the years.

Despite having lived there her entire life, the sight of the huge two-story home never failed to take Jade’s breath away.

“Almost there,” Amber chirped. Aware of Jade’s admiration of their home, the entire family always watched for her reaction. They found it fascinating, Opal had once told her. The rarity of a Burnett with such strong ties to the house could only be a good thing, especially since ancient lore believed the Guardian’s powers came from there.

Jade wasn’t so sure about that. She tended to believe power came from within. Also, she felt it had something to do with Libby, her charge. Otherwise, why would only the current Guardian be gifted?