Page 8 of Dragon’s Golden Mate (Shifter Nation: Enchanted Over Forty #2)

Maeve hurried down the aisle so she wouldn’t be tempted to turn around, throw her arms around Kendrick, and ignore anything else that might be going on in the world.

As good as it’d felt to be entwined with him, it was now almost painful to be apart.

Those strong, muscular arms around her. His lips and tongue against hers.

And oh! When he’d picked her up like that!

That was like something out of a teen romance movie, not the chaste, shaking kiss that senior citizens shared on prescription commercials.

Maeve had definitely taken notice of the hard bulge that pressed against her, letting her know that Kendrick was interested in more than just a kiss.

Her body was still aflame as she stepped onto the sidewalk.

She could still feel the warmth of his hands through the fabric of her dress and the texture of his lips against hers.

Even before that, when she’d shifted for the sake of her knee, Maeve had seen the pure desire in his eyes when he saw her wolf form.

All of this made it difficult to understand the chaos unfolding around them.

People ran out of nearby buildings. They turned and looked up, checking for destruction.

While the first quake had broken a few small flower pots and probably damaged some china cabinets, the results now were a little more obvious.

A garden shed had slipped off its slab foundation.

At a house across the street, a brick chimney had crumbled.

It’d fallen into the yard instead of on the roof, at least. Maeve spotted a thick crack in the sidewalk that she didn’t think had been there before.

“Oh, great!” A man stood outside on his lawn. He ran his hands through his hair and tugged it outward as he paced in front of a broken picture window. “I just replaced that last month!”

They hurried on. Maeve didn’t quite understand how she knew where the epicenter of the quake was, nor why it should need investigation, but her wolf was on edge. It was strong after having just surfaced, and she let the beast guide her.

Kendrick was right next to her. “The church is up this way.” Both the cathedral and the source of the shaking seemed to lie in the same direction.

They rounded the corner, and Maeve saw the building they’d seen in photos back at Tina’s place.

It was more impressive in real life, with its soaring steeple and numerous stained-glass windows.

Weeds had pushed up through the parking lot, and the movable letters on the sign out front showed that the place hadn’t been used in years.

Even so, it inspired more awe and wonder than it did desolation and abandonment.

“This is gorgeous,” she told him as they crossed the parking lot. “That old photo didn’t do it justice, especially with all the subtle colors in the stone.”

His head was lifted as his eyes carefully traced over the outside.

“Unfortunately, that quake caused some damage. It already needed some minor repairs. I hadn’t yet had a good chance to evaluate it, but I don’t think this crack was here before.

” Kendrick pointed to a gap between the stones that ran just above ground level, shot up a foot or two, and then continued on.

“Can that be repaired?”

“Possibly.” He moved along the outside of the building, scanning it with concern.

“That window is cracked now. It’s probably only the age of the church that protected it, ironically enough.

They used thicker, stronger materials back then instead of the fancy cardboard everything is built out of now. ”

Maeve knew he truly cared about the building, so she hid her laugh behind her hand.

“What?” He glanced sideways at her.

“You just sound like every other man in the hardware store, that’s all,” she told him, smiling. “Nothing is like it used to be. Back in my day, they knew how to do things right. Kids these days don’t want to work.”

He grabbed her waist and pulled her close. “You didn’t seem to mind my age a few minutes ago.”

“No, I certainly didn’t.” She grinned at him, pleased that she could tease him like this and that he could take it.

His primary concern right now, though, was the cathedral. “I need to get inside and see if there’s any damage.” Kendrick made his way to the front.

The double doors were behemoths, the kind made of actual planks of wood and fastened to the building with massive iron hinges. They rose to a pointed arch in the middle that resembled many of the windows and made Maeve think of a medieval castle. “Isn’t it locked?” she asked.

“Sure, but I don’t have time to be bothered with that. Do you have a hairpin?”

Maeve crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave him a look. “If you don’t want me to poke fun at your age, then you really can’t ask me questions like that.”

“So, you don’t?” he asked.

“No.”

“All right.” He abandoned the front door and moved around the side. “We might have better luck back here.”

Maeve followed him around the rear of the building. There, they found a single door, one that was much more modern. It certainly wasn’t new, however. Years of weather had eaten away at the engineered wood, making it chip and curl at the bottom.

Kendrick grabbed the handle and yanked, but it didn’t budge.

“Are you going to have to throw me in through a window or something?” Maeve took a step back and looked around for any other possible entrance.

“No.” He readjusted his grip on the handle and pressed his other hand against the door frame. Kendrick jiggled the door slightly. He was concentrating hard enough on it that Maeve wasn’t even sure what he was doing. Then, with one hard yank, he popped the door open.

“How did you do that?” she marveled.

“It’s not hard when you get a feel for the materials.

” Kendrick pointed to the inside of the door frame, where wood had crumbled into sawdust. “This is all just fiberboard. It’s strong enough when it’s dry, but give it a bit of water and it’s useless.

I yanked the strike plate right out of the wood. ”

Maeve looked where he pointed, seeing the little metal rectangle that used to be on the door frame now hanging from the latch. “Remind me to call you if I ever lock myself out of the house.”

He peered into the darkness inside and then looked back at her. “You should stay here. It might not be structurally sound after that quake, so it could be dangerous.”

Just standing near the open door, Maeve could sense the energy inside the church. It flowed up through her legs and into her stomach. If there was anything that might inspire her own magic to start working again, she wanted to find it. “I’m not worried about it.”

“I am.” Kendrick paused in the doorway and turned around. “You’ve already been hurt once today.”

“Then I’ve met my quota,” she retorted, closing the door behind her so no one would notice it hanging open.

In the dim light from a nearby window, she could see him smiling. “You’re very stubborn, Maeve Wright.”

“Are you complaining about that?” she challenged.

He put his hands in the air, palms out. “Not me! If you’re going to come along, you’re getting the official tour. The company isn’t liable for any accidents or incidents, and you must enter at your own risk.”

“Consider it legally binding.”

Kendrick moved forward through the short hallway they stood in.

“This is the newer part of the church, one that was probably remodeled in the seventies. You can tell by the shag carpeting and the quality veneer paneling. Here in this classroom, it’s obvious that no expense was spared on this accordion room divider. ”

Maeve couldn’t help but laugh. Kendrick had that effect on her. He was funny, yet incredibly sincere. “Don’t forget these fluorescent tube lights. They speak of simpler times.”

Kendrick laughed, too. “I promise, the rest of it is much more interesting.” He led the way through a door, and then they entered the main sanctuary of the church.

“Oh, my.” Maeve tipped her head back to take in the sheer volume of the place.

She knew the churches and cathedrals in Europe had to be far bigger and grander, but the scale was staggering.

She could feel that energy moving through her more strongly now, thrumming up around her stomach and into her chest. Or was that just the way Kendrick made her feel? It was hard to tell.

“More plaster has come down,” Kendrick noted as they moved between the wall and some pews. He touched the wall next to him, and more plaster came crumbling down, revealing the lathe behind it. “That’s not unexpected.”

“These windows,” Maeve breathed as they moved up onto the altar. She took in the soaring stained glass.

“All carefully designed to make the priest look as ethereal as possible,” Kendrick told her. “From here, you almost feel like you’re in a different building than the rest of the sanctuary. It would feel like an honor to be called out of your pew and come to the front.”

“Do you think these are the original pews?” Maeve stepped down off the altar and into the aisle, running her fingers over the smooth edge of a nearby wooden bench.

“I think there’s a good chance. If the place has to come down, then an architectural salvage company will have a heyday with everything they could take out of the place. Hardware, light fixtures, pews, windows, you name it.”

Maeve walked slowly down the aisle. With each step, she felt the vibration of the building growing stronger inside her.

It was that tickling in her palms, except that it was happening all over her body.

Experimentally, she turned over her hand and flicked her fingers.

Sparks flew and then joined, coalescing into a small orb in the center of her palm.

“Something’s definitely happening here,” she noted.

Kendrick appeared at her shoulder. “Then it wasn’t just me. Do you think it’s the ley lines?”