Chapter Fourteen

Jade

"No," I snapped. "You're not listening. I'm paying for that Jeep straight up front. I don't need to see your finance manager."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Magnus struggling to hold in his laughter as the used car salesman gaped like a landed fish.

"But," he protested. "We have such a great interest rate –"

I lifted my finger toward him like a sword. "Listen carefully. Either you bring me the paperwork to buy that Jeep right now, or we go elsewhere. Got it?"

He sighed, defeated. "Yes, ma'am. Are you perhaps interested in our extended –"

"Now."

With as much dignity as he had left, other customers and salesmen on the lot grinning at his discomfiture, he strode into the sales building. I blew out a gust of irritated breath and eyed Magnus.

"I was speaking English, wasn't I? Straight up English? No pig Latin or anything?"

"Oh, perfectly structured English," I replied, grinning. "Excellent grammar."

I covered my face with my hands. "I hate used car salesmen."

"Hey, they have to make a living by outsmarting the customers."

I walked around the choice Magnus and I made together, a two-year-old Jeep Wrangler, big off-road tires, four doors, more miles on the clock than I liked, but with a huge trade-in or sales value. A steel blue color, it would blend in easily amid the other vehicles on the roadways of this mountain city.

"I like it," Magnus commented, opening the rear hatch. "The four-wheel drive and those tires, they'll go anywhere."

"Let's hope we don't have to drive along a mountain trail."

The salesman returned with the sales manager in tow, forcing me to go through the entire dance again.

"Run my card," I nearly shouted. "Bug me anymore about extended warranties and I'll bite your fucking noses off."

The pair departed in haste, my card in hand.

"Ay-yi-yi," I groaned. "Why does buying a car have to be such agony?"

Magnus shrugged, examining the engine under the hood. "Persistence pays. You agree just to shut them up."

"And they make most of their money on those extended warranties," a guy nearby said. "And the financing. They don't make much money just on the car deal alone."

"At the cost they added onto this thing as a trade," I growled, "they made plenty of money."

The guy laughed. "You know how the world works. Congrats."

He wandered away to look at a Dodge pickup, a salesman targeting him from three aisles over. Within seconds, they discussed mileage, engine size, his trade-in, and, of course, extended warranties. I turned away to watch the traffic pass by on the busy street, feeling exposed after so much time hidden away.

Magnus slammed the hood closed, then paced to my side. "That engine looks sound," he commented, leaning against the side. "I couldn't hear any problems when we test drove it."

"I'm sure they covered some flaw over," I grumbled. "The damn thing will fail when we need it most."

"Nah. Jeeps are quality. That Dodge he's looking at will have more problems than this will."

At long last, I signed the right forms, received the title and my card, and we were given the keys to my new possession. As I refused to trade in my car, I drove it to our prearranged hiding spot for it and joined Magnus in the Jeep.

"Now we stalk?" I asked.

"We stalk." Magnus drove from the parking garage into traffic. "A few drive-bys to see if he's home, then find a covert spot to park and watch his house."

"We can't be late in getting home or our babies will be upset."

"Isn't it nice to be loved?"

Arnaud lived in a huge mansion in an incredibly upscale neighborhood near the foothills. He drove through the iron gates that protected the ultra-rich from the hairy unwashed behind a Mercedes before the coded gates closed.

"My dad is wealthy," I mused as he drove through the quiet and wide streets. "But he doesn't waste his money on houses like this."

"I saw," Magnus replied. "Not a mansion, but a nice enough place."

"Will we stick out in this?"

"Nope. Plenty of rich folks drive Jeeps." Magnus grinned. "They're in vogue ."

Arnaud's house, in my opinion, was a gaudy, sprawling house set back from the street, set amid a lawn tended by a master gardener. Tall shrubs lined the long, curving driveway, and tall oak trees, innocent of their leaves, stood in stately dignity across the property.

"He lives in that place all by himself?" I asked.

"Except for the cook, yeah."

"Did you live there?"

"For a while," Magnus answered, driving past without slowing. "I moved out a few years ago. Wanted out from under, you know? But he kept pulling me back in. I guess I wasn't strong enough to resist him."

Magnus met my gaze. "Until now."

He drove on past, rounded a corner and was now out of sight of the house.

"Was he home, do you think?" I asked as he continued to drive on.

"Yeah," Magnus replied. "There was a light on upstairs. In his study. Where he keeps his records."

I nibbled my lip. "If we park and watch his house, the neighbors will notice."

"Yep. That's why we're going to go to a nice restaurant, have a nice dinner with nice wine and enjoy one another's company."

I eyed him sharply. "Let's be clear. I'm not sleeping with you."

"Ah, love, but you already have." Magnus grinned, chuckling. "Right beside me, close enough to touch."

"Get real. You're not seducing me, buster."

His grin widened. "Yet."

***

The restaurant he chose was a quiet, subdued, upscale steakhouse not far from his father's neighborhood. I absently wondered as we parked the Jeep and walked to the entrance if we'd be turned away. After all, we wore jeans and jackets, sans ties and dresses. The host, however, guided us through the diners to a table, left us with menus, and departed.

I shed my jacket to place on the chair's back, glancing around at our fellow diners. Some wore glitz, many others simple shirts and jeans. "I guess we fit in here."

"Sure." Magnus shrugged out of his coat with a wince. "The place is expensive, but the food's totally worth it. I used to come here quite a bit."

When the waiter arrived to take our drink orders, Magnus asked for two glasses of an Italian wine I wasn't familiar with. Apparently, he observed my confusion for he grinned.

"I hope you'll like it," he said. "It's a wine that goes well with anything."

"I'm not much of a wine connoisseur, so I'm sure I will."

"Nor am I, but I happen to like this stuff."

The low lighting, the lit table lamp, gave the restaurant a romantic ambiance, an attribute Magnum surely exploited by choosing this place. We gazed at one another for long, silent moments. Handsome in a hot, sexy way, Magnus gave off vulnerability vibes along with a sense of humor and a quiet intelligence. That combination appealed to me. All the males I'd been attracted to in the past were the dominant, alpha types.

"Do you believe in fated love?" he asked at last.

"I've never thought about it before," I admitted. "It doesn't make any sense, does it? That two are chosen for each other by incomprehensible forces?"

"You don't believe in higher powers? That the universe does indeed predestine lives, that events are supposed to happen?"

"I'm guessing you do."

Magnus shrugged. "In a way, yeah. How do you explain us? Our abilities to shift into dragons?"

"I can't," I answered. "I never could, nor will I try to. There are too many unexplained occurrences in the world. Three, five-thousand-year-old civilizations with what appear to be aliens in their art. Unexplained phenomenons. Magnetic forces in the Bermuda Triangle that make planes and ships disappear."

"I often believed aliens brought us here long ago," Magnus said with a chuckle. "There's been a human belief in dragons for millennia."

"I wouldn't say no to that theory," I said slowly. "Could there be other shifters in the world? I don't know. I've got enough shit in my life to be worrying about where we'd come from."

At the flicker in his eyes and the way he looked down, I'd touched a nerve.

"Sorry, I'm not talking about you or what we're doing," I went on quietly. "I was talking about work, paying bills, getting by as a human when I want to go full on dragon mode. Always being stalked by crazy dudes, needing to wave my stick to make them go away."

I liked his sudden boyish and kind grin. It made me feel special, when no one ever made me feel special before. Unable to help myself, I smiled back.

"I hear you," he said. "I feel the same way. Wanting to stalk you, that is."

I laughed. "Don't make me smack you with my stick."

"I've learned my lesson on that score."

The waiter returned with the wine and set the glasses on tiny cocktail napkins. "I'll return to take your order."

"I haven't even looked at the menu yet." I opened mine. "What do you recommend?"

"The prime rib just about melts in your mouth," he replied. He lifted his glass. "Here's to a great start on a new relationship."

"Oh? A working relationship?" I lifted mine.

His grin widened. "Sure."

We clinked glasses and sipped. The wine, both light and dry, held a slightly nutty flavor that rolled across my tongue like silk. "Oh, that's good." I took another.

"I'm glad you like my choice."

"I do."

For the first time since we'd met, when he kidnapped me, we spoke freely, honestly, about anything at all. Arnaud, his drama, his goons, never entered our conversation. Over the extravagant prime rib, we talked of our likes and dislikes, books, the nature of the universe, philosophies, and cats.

"I'm coming to believe those tabbies are siblings," I commented, then sipped my wine. "They aren't feral but had homes once. Maybe they were abandoned at the house."

Magnus nodded thoughtfully. "What will you name yours?"

"I want to study his personality first," I explained. "I'm not one to name an animal something dumb like ‘Orangy'."

"I prefer dignified names myself," Magnus said. "Since mine's a female, I think I'll call her Ginger."

"Quite appropriate." I nodded. "She looks like a Ginger."

"You should name yours Roger."

I rolled my eyes. "Um, nope. His name will pop up in my mind at the right time."

"As in, he'll tell you his name?"

"Sure. Cats are telepathic."

When the waiter arrived to pour more wine and clear the table, Magnus said, "Might we get the check? Thanks."

I took a drink of the fresh glass. "Oh, man, this is going to my head. I'm glad you're driving."

"Does this mean I get to take advantage of you?"

Where once his joke might have set my alarms ringing, my trust in him had risen to the point I smiled and said, "Someday. Maybe. If you're lucky."

"Woo hoo." He thumped the table with his fist. "I'm a lucky dragon."

"We'll see about that."

His brilliant blue eyes studied my face, his half-smile endearing. "You're so beautiful, Jade. I'm lucky just to have you here, smiling, looking at me the way I want to be looked at."

"And how am I looking at you?"

"Like you like me. As though you appreciate me for who and what I am."

"Maybe because I do. I do like you. I confess, it's taken a while. I didn't trust you."

"I hope I've earned your trust."

"You're earning it."

The waiter arrived with the check. Magnus produced his credit card, handed it to the man with a nod of thanks. The man stepped away, revealing another standing behind him.

"Hello, my children."