“Who did it? Who murdered her?”
Now I cut my eyes from hers. “My brother.”
“Oh my God.” Lindsey moaned.
“I’ll tell you the entire sordid story,” I said. “Not tonight. It’s late, and you’ve had a terrible trauma. It won’t be easy for me to talk about.” I smiled sourly. “It was bad.”
“His picture was in the news,” Lindsey murmured. “Not yours.”
“We do look alike to some degree.”
Lindsey finished her cake, then pushed her plate aside. “I can’t eat anymore.”
“Go sit in the other room,” I told her gently. “I’ll tidy up and join you in a few.”
“Okay.”
She walked unsteadily from the kitchen. I continued to sit, staring at my hands, wondering what to do next. I’d never planned to keep any secrets from Lindsey, nor did I expect that I’d be forced to share my dark past with her so soon. Or at all. If we hadn’t been forced into such close proximity via the machinations of Austin, she might never have known.
The fucking gossiping neighbors just had to get involved. Damn them.
After cleaning up, I poured wine for us both. Taking the glasses into the TV room, I handed one to Lindsey. Sitting close beside her, I slid my free arm around her shoulders. She offered me a half-smile, which I returned.
“I’m sorry I brought up the past.”
“It would have happened, anyway.”
We sipped our wine in comfortable silence. I broke it by saying, “Okay, so you’re a dragon. You need to learn what being a dragon is all about.”
“Like what?”
“Breathing fire.”
Jolted, Lindsey almost spilled her wine. “I can what?”
“Breathe fire, silly child. You can fly.”
In clipped tones, I told her about my fight with Austin, and how he forced me to not kill him by holding Lindsey hostage.
“I had him,” I said softly. “I dared not kill him. Not until I got you back. I was frantic, here in your house, trying to find who stole my jacket. If I found the thief, I found his dope. Or so I believed.”
“He’s a dragon, too.”
“Yep. When he finds his guy dead, he may come to realize you’re a dragon as well.”
Her blue eyes darkened as her mouth tightened. “Let him try. You’re going to teach me everything there is to know. To fly. To fight. To breathe fire.”
I chuckled, enclosing her under my arm, pulling her in close. “Starting tomorrow night. We don’t let ourselves be seen by humans if we can avoid it.”
“I can see in the dark.”
“Sure can. We’ll take the truck back, then start your lessons. If that place is remote enough, we can fly and flame without anyone seeing us.”
Lindsey awkwardly sipped from her glass, not meeting my eyes. “Don’t leave me,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be alone. Please stay with me tonight.”
I kissed her brow. “You know it. I’ll stay with you as long as you need me.”
That’s how I ended up sharing her bed, yet without making love to her. I held her in my arms, her warm breath light against my chest, listening to her sleepy sighs, felt her faint stirrings.
