2. Reylor

Chapter 2

Reylor

W as I the only one who noticed the reaction when our skin touched? From the way Hannah’s pupils had widened, I’d say she’d felt something. I doubt she knew the reaction meant we were fated mates.

“Please, have a seat,” I said, struggling to sound normal.

She perched on the edge of the guest chair while I dropped into the one behind the desk and leaned back, studying my true mate. I adored how her dark hair shot through with auburn contrasted with her pale skin. Her light blue eyes. Her petite, curvy frame. And the way she’d looked me up and down when I walked over to her in the reception area.

Could I propose now, or should I wait ten minutes or so?

Although, she was human, not a dragon shifter like me. Humans didn’t do things like that. They dated a bit before the guy got down on one knee.

I’d have to wait at least an hour or so.

Tonight, for sure.

“What can I do for you?” I asked, holding my pen over a pad of paper. She had beautiful eyes, with really long lashes. Nicely sculpted eyebrows, something I was aware of thanks to growing up with three older sisters.

“I bought Blakemore House,” she said. “I’m renovating it and plan to turn it into a B&B, but someone’s trying to sabotage me. Or the ghost of Justin Blakemore is pissed off with me and needs to be exorcized.”

I dropped my pen and leaned back in my chair. “Ghost?”

“I know. Ghosts aren’t real. Detective Carter said it at least ten times.”

“You’ve spoken with law enforcement about the issue.”

“After someone dug up my flower beds for the third time, yeah.”

“A skunk?” I asked.

She growled, the purring sound shooting through my veins like dragon fire. I needed to look up human dating rituals online.

“Skunks go after grubs,” she said. “A few bulbs. They don’t uproot entire bushes and drag them twenty feet across the lawn, drop them, then beat them up with a hoe.”

“I doubt ghosts do either.” Ghosts didn’t exist.

“I don’t think it was a kid,” she said. “Once? Maybe. But three times says this person has a purpose.”

“Destroying your flower beds?”

“Destroying me. Keeping me from opening the B&B.”

Yes, that would be my first suspicion as well, once I’d proven this wasn’t a neighborhood prank. “Why would someone want to do this?”

Her gorgeous gaze pinned me in place. “If I knew the answer to that, I’d be solving this on my own. I wouldn’t be using part of my dwindling renovation money to hire a detective.”

“Have you considered getting investors?” Dragon shifter families were a close group. We used to live deep within caverns where we’d mine for gold and precious jewels. Yes, we hoarded them, but who could blame us? We’d always been drawn to sparkly things.

If Hannah was taking on investors, I’d not only be able to help, but I’d also be happy to do so.

“I’m doing this alone.” An edge crept into her voice.

I wouldn’t offer to invest, then. Not yet.

“Alright.” I wrote flower beds and destroyed three times on my paper. “Did you catch any evidence on security cameras?”

“I haven’t had them installed yet.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve been holding off. They’re not cheap, you know. Security cameras are on my list along with weeding the back patio, rescreening all the windows, painting the rest of the rooms, redoing five more bathrooms, painting the exterior, refinishing the floors, and now, painting over the water stains on my bedroom ceiling.”

I frowned. “Water stains?”

“This morning, I woke to water coming through the ceiling above my bed.”

“Did someone overfill the bathtub overhead?” I asked, noting this detail, though I wasn’t sure it was tied to her flowerbed sabotage.

“I live alone. I don’t have any guests yet. I hope to open my business this fall.”

“I see.” I wrote down water damage and unknown source. “Did you find broken pipes?”

“Not one. To be safe, I turned off the water that feeds the second floor, and I’ll have the plumber out again as soon as possible to take a look, though I suspect, like the last two times, she won’t find a problem.”

“Wait,” I said, “you’ve had water damage three times, and the plumber hasn’t been able to fix the issue? You might want to hire a different plumber.”

“She’s the second I hired, and I like her, though I know that doesn’t mean she knows her business. But the first plumber couldn’t find a problem either. Sabotage, I say. Sabotage.”

“Hmm,” I said, beginning to suspect there was more to this case than simple pranks.

She nodded. “Exactly.” She cleared her throat. “Two mornings ago, I found Leave, or else written on the mirror above the mantel in my front parlor.”

“Paint?”

She shrugged. “No clue. I went to the kitchen for cleaning supplies, but by the time I’d returned, the writing was gone.”

I studied her face. She wasn’t making this up. I’d stake my life on it. “We’ll figure this out.”

“I hope so. Pranks like this are . . . Okay, they’re not acceptable, but I can live with them while I’m fixing up the place. But once I open? Guests will flee if things like this happen to them.”

“This fall, you said.”

“Leaf peeper season is my goal. The next few months are going to pass very quickly.” Her intent gaze sought mine, and I was drawn into her eyes all over again.

“Why don’t we go out to your place, and you can show me around?”

“Alright.”

We left the office, waving to Melly sitting at the desk on our way out and pausing on the sidewalk.

“I walked,” Hannah said, waving toward the south part of town.

“My truck’s in the lot.” Like most monsters, my body was larger than the average male human, and their vehicles were too small for our frames. Fortunately, companies had started offering trucks much like the ones used to haul freight down the highway, and we were buying them up as quickly as they could make them.

“You didn’t fly?” she asked, her gaze on my shoulders.

“I shift. What you see is my regular form.”

She swallowed. “When you’re not a dragon.”

“Yes, when I’m not in my dragon form.”

“Is your dragon form a separate entity? Meaning, are you still you inside while you’re sporting scales, a tail, and wings?”

“Don’t forget the fire, fangs, and snout.” My grin rose. I liked that she didn’t hesitate to satisfy her curiosity. “I’m all me inside.”

“I imagine you look amazing.”

I leaned close and whispered in her ear, “I’m amazing in all forms, sweetheart.”