Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

E vander looked out the window, glanced at the entrance to the lingerie shop, and then carefully scanned both sides of the street as far down as he could see.

He was seated in a sports bar a couple of buildings over, across the street from the lingerie shop, and thanks to his recon, he knew that the window seat in the restaurant was the best place to keep an eye on the shop.

He'd already finished the chicken wings and soda he'd ordered, and had settled the bill, so all he had to do now was wait. It had already been over an hour, but he'd been on shopping trips with Clara before, and knew that the time didn't necessarily mean anything.

Suddenly, the air shifted in the room, and his dragon bristled beneath the surface. Becausethe animal was usually well-behaved unless there was a threat, he scanned the restaurantagain, and that's when he saw her.

Mate!

The realization jarred him, and he could only stare as she rushed to stand next to the other waitress in front of the counter while tying an apron around her waist. She mumbled something about being late to both the waitress and the bartender, and then they all laughed before she looked up and caught him staring.

Fuck! She's... absolutely perfect!

She was taller than the other waitress, and because he was seated at a high-top table and the place was barely starting to fill up, nothing was hidden from his view. She was curvy and soft, and the t-shirt she wore stretched across her breasts in a way that made his cock hard.

He wanted to rip the flimsy material away and palm those gorgeous mounds with no barrier between them. Preferably while he feasted on her gorgeous pussy. Of course, he couldn't see her pussy because she was dressed in a pair of snug jeans that covered everything, but he knew every part of her would be beautiful.

Even her wolf.

The animal was buried deep, but he could sense her other form, and he couldn't wait to see all of her.

In fact, hedesperately wanted her to turn around so he could see her ass, but unfortunately, she wasn't moving.

In fact, she was standing almost too still, and when he met her eyes again, a blast of fear slammed into him so hard he stood, bracing himself for the threat. He glanced around, determined to save her, but when he took a step in her direction, she took a step back.

The way she retreated made him pause, and that's when he realized her fear was because of him.

He took another step, just to see if he'd imagined her retreat, but the same thing happened, and another wave of fear slammed into him.His mate was afraid of him, and he stood there like an idiot, unsure what to do next.

When the bartender said something to her, she slowly looked away, and that's when he felt his phone vibrate. He looked down to confirm the text was from Petra, and after another long look at his mate, he turned to leave.

It hurt that she wouldn't look at him, especially becausehe knew that she was fully aware of what he was. She'd been watching his next move out of the corner of her eye, and he wanted to reassure her thathe would never cause her harm.

Unfortunately, he knew saying the words wouldn't prove anything, and right now, that's all he had time for.

While the Queen would never be more important than his mate, it was his duty to protect her, and he took his job as a member of the Royal Guard very seriously.

He would get Petra home safely, and then he would come back and start to woo his mate.

" O kay, why what's going on?" Petra asked. "Why are you being so weird?"

"What? I'm not being weird."

Evander glanced over at Petra, then continued to focus on the road. She was sitting next to him in the passenger seat of the SUV, and the bag from the lingerie store was on the floor between her legs. He hadn't even tried to take the package from her when he met her at the door, which went against all his instincts, but Alric's message had been clear, and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Luckily, tissue paper covered all of her purchases, so he couldn't see anything even if he wanted to.

Which he definitely didn't.

That didn't mean he couldn't think about his own mate and what she would buy if she went into that store.

Alric had said Petra wanted to go there because they had things in her size, and though Clara always seemed to know where to shop for all of them, he knew from the other women that finding something off the rack when you were curvy wasn't always easy.

And on behalf of his mate, that pissed him off.

A low rumble vibrated in his chest, and when he glanced at Petra again, she was eyeing him knowingly.

"Right," she laughed. "You're all growly and distracted, andI know this has nothing to do with waiting for me while I shopped, so what happened while I was in that store?"

He didn't want to tell her—he wasn't ready to tell anyone—but she was right. He'dbeen super moody since he walked out of therestaurant, and the Queen didn't deserve that. Hell, normally he was the least intense person in the clan, or at least equally matched with Eron, but the way he was acting now made it seem like he was annoyed at just doing this job.

Which he definitely wasn't.

"I found my mate."

"What?" She said, turning to look behind them. "How? Where? Why did you leave her?You could have called Alric to take me home. Geez, Evander, why didn't you tell me? I would have understood."

"I know," he nodded. "This isn't about my having to drive you home. Don't ever think that. If I thought calling Alric would have helped, then I would have checked with you and done so if you agreed. This isn't about that. She..."

He took a deep breath.

"I waited for you at the sports bar across the street, and she's a waitress there. She walked in a few minutes before you texted, but I haven't even talked to her, yet. I will, but I'm not sure how to proceed. She... was afraid of me."

"Oh, Evander, I'm sorry," Petra said. "Maybe there's a good reason, though. Don't forget that I was afraid of Alric, too, when I first met him. I was sure he was going to burn me alive. I know that sounds silly now, but I didn't know any better.Is she a shifter? Maybe she's afraid because she's been told lies like I was."

"Maybe."

He'd forgotten that Petra had been afraid of Alric at first.

She was human, but shifter-born, and her family had been completely horrible. Not only were they abusive, but they had filled her head with all kinds of lies about shifters, and the ones about dragons were the worst. Maybe the Queen was on to something.

"She is a shifter, a wolf, and I think you might be right about her fear. Thank you, my Queen."

She rolled her eyes at the use of her title, but she didn't tell him not to use it.That had taken some time, too, and some of the pain from his mate's blatant rejection started to wane. If his mate was afraid of him, then she probably had a good reason, and he couldn'tfault her for that.

"You're very welcome, now tell me what you had to eat becauseI'm starving," she laughed. "I don't know how Clara does what she does, but I'm tired and hungry, and probably don't need to set foot in another store for a whole year. At least."

He laughed, because he understood completely.

Clara was a personal shopper, so it was literally her job to spend all day shopping for people, but she did it without breaking a sweat. And it wasn't just about buying everything off the rack, either. Sometimes she did that, but usually her services were way more complicated, and she didn't just buy people clothes. She often did toiletries and other personal things, too.

Personally, he found shopping for that stuff way too tedious, but Clara loved it.

"Chicken wings," he laughed, "but they were way too spicy and messy. I like Eron's better. Honestly, I also like the frozen ones we buy sometimes better, too, so I guess that doesn't say much for the place. Except the waitresses are nice."

At least he assumed they were. The one who helped him was, but he didn't know anything about his mate.

"Ah, the real reason everyone eats there."

Another rumble shot out of his throat, and Petra laughed.

"I'm only teasing. That place is in a great location, and I'm sure they are packed after working hours."

She was right. The whole street had been filled with businesses that would appeal to the office types, and it wasn't all about food. The lingerie place was a perfect example, but there had also been a couple of other clothing stores, some shoe stores, a florist, a jewelry store, and a bed and breakfast mixed in with all the different types of food and coffee shops.

The neighborhood was good, and even though he hated the idea of his mate working late, he wasn't too worried about her safety while she was inside the restaurant. His research had been positive in that department, but what happened when her shift was over? Where did she live? Did she have a boyfriend?

Shit! He hadn't even thought about having to compete with another man, and he wasn't going to think about it now. He hoped she wasn't involved with someone else, but if she was, then he would deal with that later.

First, he had to learn her name and the source of her fear.

The exit for Emerald Haven came into view, and his excitement grew. He would be seeing his mate again soon, and he couldn't wait to get to know her.

K ari sighed when the door to the restaurant closed, but she was almost afraid to move. It had been a long time since a dragon had been in the sports bar, and the other times, they had barely given her a second glance.

This dragon had not only looked his fill, but he had also started to approach her. Did he know who she was? Was he going to kill her?

She didn't think so, but what the hell did she know?

She raced over to the table he vacated and looked out the window. The man was talking to another woman in front of the lingerie store, and for some reason, a wave of jealousy washed over her. Was that his wife? Or his... mate?

She knew very little about mates, but she knew that if he had one, he wouldn't have been approaching her for anything good. It must have been for some other reason, and the only thing she could think of was that he recognized her somehow.She'd been so young when her parents were killed that she didn't think it was possible, but maybe she still smelled like her parents or something.

Or maybe he had other traits to track her down that she didn't know about.

Unlike wolves, she knew dragon shifters were immortal, and maybe this man had been there that day. Maybe he had been the one to turn her parents and brother into ashes.

Another wave of sadness washed over her, but it was quickly replaced by jealousy when the woman he was with came fully into view. She was about the same height as Kari, but with a few more curves,and her dirty blonde hair was loose and wild with spiral curls that went everywhere. And to top it off, the tips of her hair were dyed pink.

Sexy hair.

She didn't have to look in a mirror to know that her hair was anything but sexy, and it didn't help that she could see a reflection of herself in the tinted window. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but there was nothing special about it, just like there was nothing special about her clothes.

Of course, she was wearing her work t-shirt right now, but even her jeans didn't look as nice as the other woman's, and suddenly she felt completely inadequate.

She glanced down at the signed slip on the table, and read the man's name.

Evander Logmire.

That name screamed old money, and considering he was a dragon shifter, that made sense. Not to mention that his mate had been shopping in the lingerie place across the street, and she'd been inside that store once, so she knew what their prices were like.

Like nothing you will ever own.

God, maybe she needed to start working that second job again after all. Of course, if she did, she still wouldn't ever own anything from that store. The money would go toward rent on a place in a better neighborhood, but would it be worth it? She didn't have a lot, but she had her sanity, and that seemed important, too.

UGH! What the hell is happening to me today?

She watched the SUV drive away, and started cleaning off the table just as the other waitress called her name. She glanced around realizing most of the tables were now full, and she had a job to do.

She thought back to her interaction with the man, and realized she probably imagined the whole thing. The fight in the hallway at her place had already brought up some old and sad emotions, and walking into work and coming face-to-face with a dragon shifter had only compounded those feelings.

There was no way the man had any idea who she was, and he didn't care either.

She'd seen him on the street with his woman, andthat woman was clearly the only thing on his mind as soon as he left therestaurant. Not some pitiful, boring-haired, waitress that hadn't even served him his food.

She pushed the man out of her mind and raced back to the kitchen to drop off the dirty dishes. The after-work crowd always filled up the place fast, and this evening was no different. She would stay busy until closing, and it was one of the best things she liked about the schedule she worked.

There wasn't any time left to let her mind wander.

H e's back.

Kari didn't have to look up from the table she was wiping down to know that the dragon shifter was back.

Evander Logmire.

She hated to admit how many times she'd rolled his name around in her head. It felt like she was crushing on him like all those women did in the movies, and that was the exact opposite of what she wanted to be doing.

He was a sexy man, there was no doubt about that, but it didn't matter how sexy he looked in his designer jeans and t-shirt, or that his hair was so black it reminded her of a raven's wing. Hewas a dragon shifter—lethal and deadly—and he could turn her to ash in seconds.

And that was definitely the reason he was back.

Shit!

So much for hoping their encounter had just been a fluke. She'd convinced herself that everything she'd felt before had been some sort of misunderstanding, but why else would he come back if it wasn't to kill her? She didn't want to die, but if he followed her, there was no way she could escape him.

And, with his skills, he wouldn't even have to chase her.

God, he could engulf her in flames right now, and no one would be the wiser. Everyone would think she just spontaneously combusted, or worse, that she'd pulled off some horrible suicide attempt.

I have to get out of here!

"Hi."

God, she'd been so stuck in her head, she hadn't even heard him approach.She was a tall woman, but she had to look way up to see his face, and what she saw there shocked her.

Up close, he was even more gorgeous than she remembered.His eyes were lavender, her favorite color, and the structure of his face was model worthy. He had strong, hard cheekbones, and a chin that looked like it had been perfectly molded from granite. The wide, kind smile stretching across his perfect features startled her, and for some reason, she had the urge to wrap her arms around him and never let go.

What the hell is wrong with me?

"I'm Evander, and you're Kari, right?"

She glanced around the restaurant, and a wave of fear washed over her, causing her to take a step back. She didn't want to think about why she hadn't felt any fear when she was staring at his beautiful face, but she figured that was one of his assets. A way to charm his prey before covering them in flames.

The restaurant had started to empty out, and a quick glance at the clock told her it was close to nine. She still had another hour and a half before her shift was over, and now that Evander was here, she knew he probably wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"How do you know my name?"

It was a stupid question, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I asked the bartender," he smiled. "I'd like to talk. Is your shift almost over? Or do you have a break soon?"

He had to know that the restaurant closed at ten, and that she would be leaving shortly after that. She didn't want to talk to him, but she knew that didn't matter. She'd already taken her break, but even if she hadn't, she wasn't going to waste it on this dragon. Unfortunately, he'd just be waiting for her when she got off work later, and because he could go invisible in his dragon form, she would never be able to outrun him.

An idea started to form, and she quickly shook her head.

"No breaks," she said, taking a step back, "and I'm working really late. Maybe another time."

She turned and hurried to the kitchen without waiting for a response. Telling him "maybe another time"had definitely been a mistake, but the words just slipped out. Her only thought had been to get as far away from him as possible, but that wouldn't help her tomorrow, or the next day.

He knew where she worked, and eventually, he would catch up with her. Maybe she should just get it over with now, but even though her life wasn't great, she wasn't ready to die.

Kari raced through the kitchen door, and almost ran straight into her boss.

"I'm sorry," she said, making her voice sound weak as she set the tray on the counter. "But I don't feel well. My stomach is doing somersaults, and I'm pretty sure I have a fever. I?—"

"Out!" Her boss said. "Go home and get some rest, and call me tomorrow to let me know how you feel. It's not a problem if you need an extra day."

Luckily, her boss didn't mess around when his staff didn't feel well, and though she hated lying to the man, she was grateful that he didn't try to argue with her. Other bosses weren't nearly as kind, and it was another reason she really liked working there.

"I will, thank you."

She hurriedly grabbed her stuff out of her locker, and then practically ran out of the employee entrance.

She took a deep breath and didn't scent the dragon anywhere, but she had no idea whether or not he could mask his scent. Because they were more powerful than regular shifters, she wasn't sure what was possible, but she didn't let that deter her and set off toward her apartment at a pace that could almost be defined as a run.