Never Dare a Dragon Read online

  Another waiter appeared with a pitcher of ice water and filled their glasses. They smiled at each other, as if both were wondering who would reach for the water first during dinner.

  Jayce wasn’t as competitive as some of his brothers. Maybe because as the biggest, he was assumed to be the best. Ryan was especially competitive, but that may have been due to their messed-up family dynamics.

  Ryan was actually the oldest—until he’d met with a near-fatal accident at the age of seven. Jayce had been only five, but after witnessing the family secret in action that day, the image was burned into his brain. Literally. Mommy and Daddy quickly explained what was going to happen and dumped lighter fluid on his big brother—then lit him up. Ryan didn’t yell or scream. He just sort of went to sleep, and they watched until there was nothing but a pile of ash left. Then the ashes stirred…and the brilliant phoenix arose.

  Jayce startled himself out of his reverie. Hopefully Kristine didn’t notice that he’d gone elsewhere for a few moments.

  “What were you just thinking about?”

  Shit, she noticed. “I was wondering if you have a boyfriend.” Good save, Fierro. He’d wanted to know that anyway.

  Her smile began to appear, and then she schooled it quickly. “Not at this time, no. You?”

  “No. I don’t have a boyfriend either…or a girlfriend,” he teased. The truth was that no one compared to her in his mind. He was well aware he came off as a player. That didn’t quite match the reality. He simply couldn’t find an open-minded lover with the right chemistry whom he could trust completely. He liked the clean slate he had with an out-of-towner like Kristine.

  She tipped her head. “You’re single? How can that be? You’re handsome, charming, have a heroic job… I don’t get it.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve done my fair share of casual dating. What can I say? I’m picky.” He hoped she’d be satisfied with that answer and realize he was complimenting her at the same time. “What about you? A gorgeous woman with a sense of humor? How are you still single?”

  “Well, I can’t say I’ve done a lot of dating…casual or otherwise. I’m not seen the same way you are, being a female in an almost all-male profession. Some men think I’m gay. Some think I’m an overzealous feminist with something to prove, and that’s threatening to them.”

  “Well, then some men are stupid.”

  She laughed. “Tell me about it.” Then she sat up straight. “But not all men are like that.”

  He’d let it slide. There was plenty of time to find out if she had some kind of deep-seated resentment toward men—later. “So, did you ever have a long-term relationship that didn’t work out?”

  “How did you guess?”

  He shrugged. “Like I said, you’re incredible. I imagine guys hit on you all the time.”

  “Ha. You imagine wrong.”

  That was good news as far as Jayce was concerned. Then he caught himself wondering why. This trip was supposed to burst his bubble. Make him not want her like he did. Unfortunately, his plan was backfiring big time. He wanted her more than ever.

  “So…tell me about the one who got away,” he said.

  She took a deep breath, then seemed to relax and compose herself. “You were right about a sense of humor being important to me. I dated a comedian for a few years, and that’s what attracted me to him in the first place. He wasn’t especially good-looking. Shortly after I moved in, he moved on.”

  “Oh? Did he go to LA or Vegas?”

  “No. He moved on to a blonde.”

  “Ouch!”

  “I guess you don’t approve,” she said.

  If he wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of hope in her voice. Being as honest as he could, he held her gaze. “No. I don’t. That’s why I don’t get into relationships unless I’m sure—”

  Her eyes widened. “Sure of what?”

  Oh shit. What could he say? Sure that the woman of his dreams wouldn’t freak out when he revealed his supernatural status? He was saved by the waiter bringing their bottle of wine.

  * * *

  The rest of the dinner went well. In fact, Kristine was surprised by how well it was going. She hadn’t dated a guy like Jayce in a long time. Their connection seemed to be almost instantaneous. It was just too bad he was a firefighter—and lived three hours away as the Acela train flies. Actually, a quick plane ride would reduce the commute to only an hour and a half, but the hassle and time it took to go through security would make the trip even longer.

  Walking down the wide sidewalks of Times Square, hand in hand, sure made her feel as if the trip might be worth the hassle. His hand was warm and rough. For once she wasn’t concerned that hers were the same way. No hand cream could stand up to a firefighter’s routine. Wet gloves, rough weather, unbearable heat… All of that detracted from the soft, supple skin she longed for.

  They had decided over dinner to visit the top of the Empire State Building. Jayce had never been there before, and Kristine had only visited with friends—never a date. It was supposed to be romantic. She’d never understood why. Probably because her cynical ex-boyfriend thought it was hokey. As she glanced over at Jayce, he glanced back, and they smiled. One thing she wasn’t seeing in him was a city dweller’s pessimism. Its absence was a refreshing change.

  Eventually, they arrived at their destination, and as luck—or the stars aligning at the right moment—would have it, they stepped into an elevator with no one right behind them. The doors whooshed closed while they were still alone.

  She spun toward Jayce with a hand over her mouth. “I guess that wasn’t very nice of me. I probably should have waited.”

  He stepped right into her space. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

  As the elevator began to ascend, he leaned in and captured her mouth with his firm lips. She looped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her close. She immediately opened her mouth, and their tongues found each other and swirled together. Kristine wasn’t at all sure her light-headed feeling was due to the elevator traveling so fast. Unfortunately, she felt as if she were falling instead.

  Don’t think about it. Whatever happens happens… She seemed to have found a new mantra. She heard the ding of the elevator doors opening, and they were greeted by chuckles and a wolf whistle.

  “Yeah, yeah…” Jayce said, but he was grinning and holding Kristine’s hand as they made their way off the elevator.

  When they spotted a space at the building’s edge that was fairly deserted, they walked over to it with no hesitation.

  “You’re not afraid of heights, I guess…” Jayce said to her.

  She laughed. “I’d be in deep trouble if I were.” Not only was she a firefighter in a company that specialized in high-rises, but she was a full-fledged, fire-breathing, wing-soaring dragon. She could hover at this height and enjoy the view.

  Speaking of enjoying the view…

  Jayce turned his back on the dazzling city lights and kissed her knuckles as he stared into her eyes. She felt as if her insides were melting. A deep shimmer in his eyes must have been reflecting the lights. Or not. His eyes seemed to glow for a moment, and then he quickly turned back toward the city.

  She took her first good look at the city lights as well. Dear Lord. At last she realized why people thought this place was romantic. At night, so many lights against the velvet black sky were more beautiful than Christmas. Some even seemed to twinkle like stars. Below, white headlights and red taillights trailed through the landscape, but the sounds of the city were far away.

  A chilly breeze ruffled her hair. Jayce enveloped her in a side hug. If she felt a chill, it was forgotten in favor of his warm, strong body alongside hers. Everywhere they touched, merging heat radiated through her. Wow. How she’d missed this! Or had she ever had this feeling?

  Good Lord, Kristine… Get ahold of yourself!

  “So, Jayce… Wh
at do you think of the view from up here?”

  He turned her toward him and said, “I think the view right in front of me is as beautiful as it gets.” Leaning in, he delivered another toe-curling kiss, and she realized she was a goner.

  Chapter 3

  Jayce wasn’t surprised his cock was hard and straining his zipper. That happened whenever she smiled at him. But this feeling—this instinct to mate—was almost overwhelming.

  He didn’t want to scare her, and if he wasn’t careful, he might. A stray lock of strawberry-blonde hair was blowing across her eyes. He reached out and tucked it behind her ear. Instead of leaning away and fixing her hair herself, she actually leaned into him.

  Was he getting the go-ahead signal? Since when had he ever had trouble figuring out what a woman wanted? Some girls gave mixed signals, but he didn’t think she was doing that. For whatever reason, he sensed she was as ready to go to the next level as he was.

  There was only one way to tell. He held her gaze and let her know how he felt. “I don’t want this night to end.”

  “Neither do I,” she said breathlessly.

  Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, “It doesn’t have to.”

  She turned her face toward the city and chewed her lip, as if trying to make up her mind. He waited as patiently as he could.

  At last she said, “I live with my mother.”

  “And I have the tiniest hotel room ever built,” he said, trying to lighten the mood and take the pressure off. She chuckled as he’d hoped she would, but he wanted to make sure she didn’t think he was trying to discourage her. “But…I think I can squeeze you in, if you want to spend the night together.”

  “I—” She took a deep breath and let it out with a whoosh. Her gaze dropped to her toes. “I really shouldn’t.”

  He made an effort to keep his disappointment from showing. “I understand. You barely know me. There’s the distance—”

  “No. It’s none of that.”

  When she didn’t elaborate, he told himself to back off. To not pressure her. If she wasn’t ready, she wasn’t ready. But he could have sworn…

  “I should tell you that I made a vow.”

  Shock rippled through him. “You’re a firefighter and a nun?”

  She belted out a laugh. “God, no! I just meant that I vowed not to sleep with firefighters.”

  “Oh.” He chuckled at himself. “I see. And why is that?”

  “For one thing, living and working together is stressful enough. Add in spending our spare time together, and there’s no separation at all. If we ever had a fight, it could not only affect our cooperation with each other, but could make our coworkers uncomfortable. Considering what we do, staying on good terms with everyone is highly recommended.”

  “All good points. But I don’t hear anything that applies to the two of us. We’d never end up in the same firehouse or even on the same job in a city-wide disaster.”

  “I know, and that’s the only reason I’m considering…” She gazed out at the city again.

  Waiting for her to make a decision was killing him. He was just about to say “Never mind, there’s no hurry,” when she grabbed his face and took a deep breath.

  “Okay, yes. But I might only go part of the way, and I can’t stay all night.”

  “Good enough.” Without another word, they grasped each other’s hands and headed for the elevator.

  Jayce wanted her badly, but he was also having some niggling second thoughts. He pretty much stayed out of relationships, but he wasn’t a love-’em-and-leave-’em kind of guy either. He glanced over at her a couple of times, and she looked up at him shyly. Maybe “part of the way,” as she put it, was a wise decision.

  He was tempted to offer to wait, but his body wanted to slap him just for thinking it. Why this girl made him want her so much he couldn’t fathom. There were women who could rival her in the looks department, but that wasn’t the deciding factor. He’d dated models and a couple of beauty queens, so if looks were all he needed, he could have proposed to any of them.

  No, there was also the absolute need to find an open-minded woman he could trust, who would trust him completely in return.

  By the time they reached his hotel room, he was good and confused. And yet she seemed to have convinced herself to go full speed ahead. She was yanking his shirt out of his jeans and pushing his jacket off his shoulder at the same time. Her anxiety made him chuckle, but he wondered if she was trying to get it done before she could talk herself out of it.

  “Relax, Kris. There’s no need to rush.”

  “Oh. I thought you wanted this.”

  “I do. Don’t get me wrong. I do…very much. But I don’t want you to feel pressured or hurried.”

  “Am I hurrying too much?” Her expression said she was taking this the wrong way.

  He grabbed her elbow and led her to the bed two steps away. “No. But sit down.”

  She remained standing and crossed her arms. “If you’re going to say you’ve changed your mind, do it now. I don’t need to hear any fancy explanations. If you’re just not into me, you’re not into me.”

  “Huh? I am into you.” He smiled and then winked. “Or I will be, if you’ll give me a chance.”

  “Oh…oh! You, um, need a few minutes?”

  “What? No.” He laughed. “I’m good to go. I’m just making sure that this is what you want.”

  “For fuck’s sake…” she said under her breath.

  Obviously she didn’t know what to think of his gallantry. Maybe she’d never experienced a man being considerate before. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea and think he was backing out. Far from it. At last, he tackled her and pulled her down on top of him.

  She came up laughing. “Women aren’t the only ones who give mixed signals.”

  “I guess not. I’m sorry.” He rolled her onto her back and loomed over her. “I’m very into you. Maybe so much that I got a little scared.”

  Her brows shot up. “I’ve never heard that one before.”

  “Because it’s not a line.” Before she could comment on his embarrassing burst of honesty, he dipped his head and devoured her mouth. She returned his passion, and they rolled across the bed. As the heat built, he needed to get his clothes off. He should never have stopped her as they were entering the room.

  He reached behind her back and lowered the dress’s zipper. Slipping it off one shoulder revealed a pretty lavender lace bra. Maybe she had been joking about the granny panties.

  Getting the rest of the dress off her was a bit of a trick. She seemed fine letting him remove the dress from the other shoulder and pop her bra open, but that’s where her cooperation ended. She didn’t lift her bottom, so he couldn’t pull the dress down and off. He couldn’t yank it up over her head either. He tried to slip his hand inside, and she batted it away.

  Fine. He’d lavish attention on her breasts until she was ready to move forward. As he suckled, she moaned and arched into him. There was no question in his mind that she was enjoying this.

  Finally, it occurred to him what the problem might be. He rose up on his elbows and stared down at her. “Kristine, are you wearing granny panties?”

  “Um…” A blush stained her chest and worked its way up to her cheeks. “Yes.”

  Jayce leaned back and laughed. “Oh, honey. You don’t have to worry about that. I was just giving you a hard time that day in Boston. It was just part of the fun.”

  “Really? You don’t mind?”

  “It’s certainly not a deal breaker. I like you too much.”

  “Well, that’s a relief, because I like you too.”

  “I propose that we give this long-distance thing a try. After all, it might work out, but we’ll never know unless we give it a shot.”

  “I accept your proposal.” She immediately broke eye contact and blush
ed.

  * * *

  Later Kristine practically floated into her apartment after her date.

  On the lookout for her mother, she crept to the bathroom. She didn’t want to go into details, and her mother would have grilled her. She just wanted to bask in the glow of adoration for a little while. It had been a long, long time since any man had treated her this well. She knew the high wouldn’t last, but by God, she was going to enjoy it while it did.

  Her mother must have gone to bed early. She never went to bed before eleven, and she usually read for a while. It was after midnight when Kristine tucked herself in and turned out the light without waking her. At that point, she’d considered her night a complete triumph.

  Would he really call her today like he said he would? Or was it a one-night stand? She’d given him her landline number just in case her mobile phone’s battery died.

  Crap. Now she’d obsess about it all day. Oh well, at least she had a dentist appointment to take her mind off him. She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. Yeah, right. Like anything would get her to stop thinking about Jayce Fierro.

  On her way to the dentist, her phone rang. It was only 9:30 in the morning. It couldn’t be him. It must be her mother, wanting to interrogate her over the phone since she didn’t get a chance to do it in person.

  Well, she couldn’t avoid her mom forever. She dug her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. Her phone had its own case with the absolute necessities in it: credit card, cabbie cash, and a spot to tuck business cards if she was ever offered one. It took her a minute to answer, and she was almost to the subway. That gave her the perfect excuse to cut the call short.

  “Hey, Mom—”

  “Mom?” asked a sexy male voice on the other side of the line. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but never ‘Mom.’”

  Oh my God! It’s Jayce. She giggled as she realized her mistake. “I—uh…I thought…”

  He laughed as a combination of relief and mortification washed over her.

  “I’m pretty sure I know what you thought. Don’t worry about it. Your cell phone probably didn’t recognize my number. I’ll have to program it in when I see you again.”