Page 3

“Where did you go?” Mia kept her smile in place as she gritted out the question.

Jonothon placed a full flute of something very similar to champagne—with a little more of a kick—in her hands, and grinned. “Oh, just flirting with a couple vampires.”

She blinked. “Vampires?”

“The queen has graciously allowed a handful of outsiders in for a fortnight. Art lovers mostly.”

It wasn’t out of the ordinary, not since the Nova realm had opened themselves up to the outside world.

It was the only reason Mia was here. But the mention of vampires made her heart stutter—and not in a good way.

She had vampire friends, but… she mentally shook herself.

She was just letting the past get in her head because this was such a big night. “So tell me about these vampires.”

“I might have a date later tonight. Or two.”

She nudged him with her hip as they came to stand in front of a gorgeous sculpture of a dragon emerging from a nearby lake. The little flecks of “water” on the dragon scales looked so real shimmering under the gallery lights. “You’re so talented,” she murmured.

“And we’re already friends so you don’t have to butter me up.”

She laughed lightly. “I’m serious. I’m so in awe of your work.”

He cleared his throat, his cheeks flushing pink. “Coming from you, that means a lot. Thank you.” He cleared his throat again, his expression turning pointed as he glanced behind her. “And someone has been watching you all night.”

Surprised, she turned and found Tiber talking to a tall female who she guessed was likely a warrior given her more casual garb.

And he wasn’t even glancing in her direction.

She turned back to Jonothon. “Shut your beautiful mouth.” She knew he was simply messing with her.

Tiber couldn’t stand her or humans in general, and fine, she’d made her opinion on him clear to her friend.

So now Jonothon liked to mess with her whenever the big dragon was lurking around.

“I can’t believe he’s even here,” she muttered.

This didn’t seem like his kind of hangout.

Then she felt guilty for the mean thought. Everyone could appreciate art, no matter where they came from. Something she understood more than most.

As she and Jonothon talked, two slim, definitely vampire, males approached, looking at her friend with clear interest.

“Your two dates?” she whispered.

“Hmmm.” A non-response as he kissed her cheek. “I’m going to dip out early, but I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you.”

“You too.” She tried to keep her voice light, but her only friend here, her crutch, was gone. And there was nothing keeping her from sneaking out too. You know, except guilt .

Jonothon was from here, knew his place in this territory was secure. She was still an outsider. Something she was reminded of every day in this place of magic and wonder. She was a human and felt like she had to fight for her place here.

Feeling awkward, and wanting to get away from Tiber, she started to walk around the giant sculpture, but froze when she saw him . Her ex.

Ice slicked her veins as she stared at his hard, handsome profile. Without thinking, her body simply moving, she ducked back behind the sculpture.

She could actually feel her anxiety kicking in, her heart rate galloping out of control. The walls were closing in on her, everyone’s voices starting to blend into a cacophony of clashing noises.

She knew she had to leave. He could not see her. She wanted to know why he was here, but her main priority was getting the hell out of here before he approached her. Barely aware of her feet moving, she headed toward the nearest exit and found herself almost slamming into a wall of muscle.

Tiber.

Of course.

Because the goddess or whoever was having fun with her.

His amber eyes were filled with concern as he looked down at her. That sight brought her out of her spiral as his big hands landed on her bare arms. And his touch… oh, that could not be a spark. Nope.

“Are you okay?” His rumbly voice was… ugh. Wonderful.

“Fine,” she rasped out and shoved her drink into his chest, basically forcing him to take it before she ducked away from him and through the nearby exit.

Never before had she been so thankful for the cold, fresh air as she stepped onto the cobblestone street. Or alley, she guessed, since it was a side exit.

Trying to steady her breathing, she carefully walked in her kitten-heeled shoes toward the main street that ran along the middle of the town.

She’d worn flats and carried her current shoes in a little bag she’d left in the curator’s backroom.

She’d also left her coat there, but no way was she going back inside to retrieve it.

“What’s wrong? Has someone insulted you?” Tiber’s deep voice so close behind her made her jump. And squeak. Which was just plain embarrassing.

“Don’t sneak up on me!” Her voice shook.

He held up his palms. “I thought I made a lot of noise. I wasn’t trying to scare you.”

She hated that he actually looked concerned. “Are you following me?”

“Yes.”

She blinked at the unexpected answer. “Oh. Well, you don’t need to. I’m fine.” She still risked a quick glance over her shoulder to see if anyone else had come out with him. Thankfully, it was just Tiber. Words she’d never thought she would think.

He simply frowned at her, all tall and intimidating. “Did someone touch you?” he asked even as she walked away from him.

Slowly. Stupid shoes.

“No one touched me.” Her teeth chattered slightly, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or knowing that her ex was in the vicinity.

Because there was no doubt that it was him.

He was an art lover and an extremely wealthy vampire, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he’d been invited with whatever group was there. But his presence worried her.

“Was it Jonothon?” he growled.

She stared up at him. “What? No. He’s my friend.”

Tiber simply grunted and she realized that he was still walking with her as they stepped onto the main road. There were a handful of people wearing dresses and exquisite tunics standing outside the gallery, but none were her ex.

“You can go back to the party. I’m fine now. Just got a little overwhelmed with all the noise.”

“You are a terrible liar.”

“I was overwhelmed.” Did she sound defensive? At least her heart rate was back to normal. Well, normal-ish. When she was next to Tiber, she was out of sorts in general, but she was still shocked at having seen her ex.

“That I believe. But it is not why you are leaving. If you’ll tell me who offended you, I’ll whittle down their femur bones until they’re utensil-sized and stab—”

“Tiber!” She wasn’t sure if she should be horrified or laugh. He couldn’t be serious, right? That was when she saw the glint in those amber eyes. “You’re messing with me?”

He simply grinned and oh, no one should be allowed to look that good when they smiled. Everything about him was hard and deadly, but that smile…

Frowning, she glanced away. He hated humans. She couldn’t forget that. “Why are you following me home?” She glanced around the quiet street as they headed back to the artist’s enclave she currently called home. It had become a real home in the last few months in a way she’d never imagined.

“Starlena asked me to keep an eye on you.”

Ah, there it was. And it made sense. He would only have agreed to escort her if Starlena requested it. She shivered again and to her surprise, Tiber draped something over her shoulders. Some sort of sash thing that had been around his tunic.

“You don’t—”

“I can hear your teeth chattering.” His tone was dry.

And fine, he was right, she was freezing. “Thank you.” The wrap thing smelled amazing too but she resisted the compulsion to bury her face in it. Instead, she wrapped it tighter around her shoulders, thankful for the warmth.

The rest of the walk was awkward and silent, so that was fun.

She couldn’t stop the sigh of relief when they finally made it to the enclave she lived in.

Which was really a bunch of mountain chalets built in a circular shape, with pathways connecting all of them.

Most of the artists lived with their mates or a roommate if they chose.

She’d taken a solitary chalet because she valued her privacy and hadn’t been sure about potential roommates when she’d arrived.

Plus, her cat Neptune could be temperamental, and she’d been worried he wouldn’t get along with shifters.

He was usually playful and sociable, but he’d had weird reactions to some shifters.

Thankfully, her worries had been for naught, and he got along with all her friends.

The homes were built with incredible insulation, lots of glass for natural light and she wasn’t sure of the other building materials because they weren’t the same as in the human realm.

And the big difference was that the homes were more rounded and most of the roofs opened up for a dragon to fly out if needed.

She’d never had that particular need, but she loved that half the roof was glass.

She felt like she was outside even when she was in the warmth and working.

“Oh, you don’t have to walk me all the way to…” She trailed off when it was clear that he was ignoring her.

She also noticed that he’d matched his stride to her much slower one. And he hadn’t made any impatient sounds or acted like she was too slow. It surprised her considering what he thought of humans. He must be on his best behavior for Starlena.

“This is me,” she said as they approached one of the homes.

She’d left a few of the magic-fueled lights on inside so there was a warm, inviting glow waiting for her.

When she opened the door, he once again surprised her—by brushing past her and stepping inside as if he had every right to enter her residence.

“What the heck are you doing?” she demanded, slipping off the heels by the door before following after him.

“You stank of fear when you ran out of the gallery. Someone clearly scared you and since you won’t tell me about it, I’m going to check your place and make sure that there is no threat here. I want you to sleep soundly tonight.”

Oh. “I have a cat,” she called out as he hurried up her stairs.

He made a grunt of acknowledgement but didn’t slow down. She blinked as he moved through her place with efficiency, not even bothering to glance at her as he disappeared into her bedroom.

She was tempted to follow after him, but started a pot of tea instead, knowing that Neptune was likely hiding from their interloper.

She might not care for Tiber, but right now he was actually making her feel better.

It didn’t matter that Starlena had clearly ordered him, she was still on edge and him checking out her place went a long way in easing that punch of fear from earlier.

As she pulled down two mugs he strode back in, looking a little ready to murder something. Alarm punched through her. “Did you find something?”

“No.” And he looked annoyed by that.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Of course.”

“Then why do you look like you want to punch something?” Or burn it to a crisp.

He looked around the kitchen and connected living room with something akin to curiosity in his gaze as he said, “Because you won’t tell me what the threat is, and I was hoping to kill something tonight.”

She blinked, unable to stop her mouth from falling open. He was joking again, right?

He looked at her and shrugged. “I will find out.”

“Is this a dragon thing? The whole curiosity thing?” She poured a mug for him and slid it across the little island.

Staying on the other side—she needed distance from the big dragon thank you very much—she poured herself a mug and inhaled the hints of lavender.

“It’s a Tiber thing,” was all he said as he took a tentative sip of the tea.

And she had no idea how to respond. This whole situation was weird.

As he sat there, he glanced down and that was when she heard the purring.

“Oh, that’s my—”

He leaned down and before she realized what was happening, he was sitting there holding her cat and drinking her tea. “This is delicious, thank you.”

She stared as her giant Maine Coon, a regal fluffball of smoky gray fur and green eyes, butted his head up against Tiber’s chin and purred insistently.

“He likes when you scratch the top of his head,” she muttered. Traitor.

Tiber cleared his throat as he began gently scratching the big baby. “Did you enjoy the auction? Before whatever happened to scare you?”

“I… did not really enjoy it,” she said, finding herself being honest and she wasn’t even sure why. She didn’t want to make small talk with him, but she also didn’t want to lie for reasons beyond herself. Besides, she was pretty sure he’d be able to tell if she wasn’t truthful.

Dragons and other shifters could scent it, she’d been told. And… her cat seemed to like him. That counted for something. “I’m grateful that so many people came to see my work and all the other artists involved, but I get anxious being around so many people.”

“You’re very talented,” he said in response. “It’s no surprise that so many came to buy your work.”

“Thank you.” A compliment from human-hater Tiber? She didn’t know what else to say after that. Seeing her ex there in the Nova realm had ripped away her sense of self, her sense of safety, if she was being honest. She just wanted to be alone right now.

After a few more seconds, Tiber set his mug down. “I’ll leave you be. But I’ll be sleeping out in the adjoining area between the chalets in my dragon form. I don’t want you to be startled if you look out your window and see a dragon.”

“You don’t have to stay. That’s… ridiculous. I’m fine.”

“I am a ridiculous dragon.”

She blinked at him. “You can’t just agree with me!”

He shrugged, giving her the hint of a mischievous grin and for a moment she saw his dragon looking back at her, his eyes amber and gold and oh god, she desperately wanted to paint him. All of him.

Worse, she was pretty sure the beast looking back at her knew it.