Page 10

TEN

A s the water subsided, Zina stood, pushing damp hair from her forehead. Her slacks were soaked from the knees down, yet her expression showed determination rather than embarrassment.

“I apologize for that,” she said, her voice steady despite the disaster.

“You handled that exceptionally well,” Xai found himself saying, genuine admiration warming his usually formal tone.

Surprise flickered across her features, followed by the hint of a smile that made his chest tighten strangely. “I... thank you. Not exactly how I planned to demonstrate our emergency protocols.”

“Most would have panicked,” he observed. “Your reaction was both efficient and calm.”

“Growing up with a single-minded focus on opening a spa meant learning plumbing basics,” she replied with a light laugh.

“Technical difficulties happen,” Noven offered cheerfully. “Even in establishments that have been around for centuries. Right, Xai?”

“I don’t know,” Xai said. “I might have vaporized the entire pipe system out of sheer annoyance.”

The unexpected humor in his response startled a genuine laugh from Zina, the sound warming something ancient and cold within him. Her eyes, already striking, brightened with amusement, gold flecks becoming more pronounced—a subtle shift that his draconic vision detected instantly.

“I’d prefer you save the vaporization for after the grand opening,” she responded, her tone lightening. “Though I suppose ‘remodeled by dragonfire’ would make an interesting marketing angle.”

For the first time since entering the spa, Xai found his lips curving into a genuine smile. “An unconventional approach to renovation.”

“I’ve never been particularly conventional,” she admitted, matching his smile with one that transformed her face, revealing a hint of the vibrant spirit that lay beneath her professional demeanor.

Something shifted between them in that moment—a spark of connection beyond physical attraction or professional courtesy. Xai found himself wondering what she would be like in a setting where no roles or responsibilities separated them, where they might simply talk as equals.

Noven offered to fetch towels for the cleanup, leaving them momentarily alone amid the puddles and steam.

“This space has significant potential,” Xai said, breaking the silence. “Your mother’s vision was ambitious.”

“But achievable,” Zina responded, her feathers getting a little ruffled.

He couldn’t help but grin at her defensiveness. “I didn’t suggest otherwise.”

He moved toward the door, then paused. “The council will expect a full report. Including how new businesses handle... unexpected challenges.”

As he stepped into the hall, he noted movement out the window. His body went preternaturally still—the deadly stillness of a dragon preparing to defend territory.

A sleek black car idled at the curb outside. Through the half-lowered window, Xai could clearly see the driver—Severin Madrigal. The lion shifter’s predatory smile as he observed Zina through the glass sent an unexpected surge of possessive rage through Xai’s veins.

MINE.

The dragon’s roar of ownership echoed through his mind with such force that Xai nearly staggered. The temperature around him rose dramatically as his control slipped, his eyes shifting to molten gold. Small objects on nearby surfaces began to vibrate slightly from the magical energy radiating from his tightly coiled form.

Never had he experienced such an overwhelming territorial response. His inner dragon had marked Zina Parker as his mate with absolute certainty, and now it perceived a direct threat to that claim. The primal impulse to eliminate Madrigal—to reduce the rival male to ash with a single breath of dragonfire—struck him with frightening intensity. It took every shred of his centuries-honed control to suppress the draconic rage.

Madrigal’s real estate empire had been expanding aggressively throughout Enchanted Falls over the past year, specifically targeting properties near magical hotspots. Just yesterday, the council had received reports detailing his latest acquisitions—all suspiciously located along the town’s primary ley lines.

Now here he was, watching Zina’s spa with the calculating gaze of a predator assessing prey.

The intensity of Xai’s reaction to this perceived threat still confused and alarmed him. His draconic nature had somehow already categorized Zina as his mate despite all logic and social propriety. Yet he couldn’t dismiss the primal certainty that Madrigal’s interest in Purrfect Oasis went far beyond normal business competition.

When Zina followed his gaze and tensed at the sight of Madrigal, Xai’s suspicions solidified. Her reaction wasn’t mere business rivalry—there was genuine unease there.

As Madrigal’s window slid upward, concealing him from view, Xai made a silent vow. Whatever game the lion shifter was playing, it wouldn’t unfold without draconic intervention. Long life had taught him to recognize threats to the balance of power in Enchanted Falls.

And somewhere deep in his ancient soul, his dragon had already decided that Zina Parker was not merely another business owner in his jurisdiction. She was something more—something his draconic-self recognized even if his rational mind hadn’t yet accepted the implications.

That realization would require serious reflection later. For now, he had a spa to inspect, a report to file, and a lion to watch very, very closely.

But more urgently, he needed to understand why this sassy, competent lioness had awakened something in him that centuries of life had never touched—and what, exactly, he was going to do about it without setting the entire town on fire in the process.