Page 36 of Here Be Dragons

My dragon had already convinced me that Carly was my mate, but this urge to share my treasure with her confirmed it. Howwould she react to it? I imagined her eyes wide and excited to see all the gems. Would some of these artifacts speak to her through her talent? What would they say? Would they tell glorious tales of my past conquests?

Grinning, I stepped into my cave, eager to choose the best jewels and gems to decorate my nest back at the estate. Then I thought. I had a nest here, too. It would be prudent to clean this one up as well, make sure it was ready for my mate. Yes. Now that I’d decided that Carly was mine and that I would pursue her with my entire being, the way forward looked much clearer.

Chapter 19

Carly

My mouth dropped openas I stared at the headline:Urban Explorers Meet Fiery End in Abandoned Mill.

According to the news article, two friends had gone exploring and decided to start a bonfire inside the fabric mill using whatever they could find. Some of the combustible chemicals used in the dying process had accidentally caught fire, causing a small explosion. Neither man was alive when firefightersarrived, but at least they were able to subdue the flames before they spread to any neighboring buildings.

I shook my head, wondering how they’d managed to come up withthatstory. The men hadn’t even been inside the building when Desmon burnt them to a crisp! And I was pretty sure no combustible chemical on Earth would burn through someone as fast as magical fire. But I wasn’t going to question it, especially since the police had yet to contact me regarding the disappearance.

“Oh yes, it’s really tragic, isn’t it?” Janice said, leaning in to take a glimpse of the article.

Apparently, every Friday was casual Friday, which meant everyone working at the museum was encouraged to come to work in their natural forms.

Technically, they were allowed to come in without glamor any day of the week, but old habits died hard even here in Darlington, a place full of monsters, and certain monsters were still not uncomfortable being out in public in their natural form.

Janice had come to work this morning with a full-on beard. It was the only thing different about her.

“Not all dwarven women have beards; I just happen to be one who does,” had been her very first words to me in the staff room today.

I thought it actually suited her face very well. I was surprised at how feminine she still looked.

“Urban exploring?” I still couldn’t believe what I was reading. “Really?”

“Apparently so.” Janice shook her head. “I didn’t know Leonard was into that. It’s dangerous, you know. He just told me that he was sick, and I believed him. I’m just glad you had nothing to do with it. I was worried about you when you didn’t show up or call.”

“I’m sorry I worried you.”

“It’s okay. Your place was broken into, and you had to deal with all that. It’s nice of Desmon to give you a place to stay until you can get back on your feet. But next time, do me a favor and run the place by me before you sign the lease. I heard you rented the last one sight unseen.”

That had been all Mateo had told her. He’d left out the part that Leonard had been involved in the break-in and that I’d been kidnapped to boot. Instead, he just let her believe that I was filling out paperwork down at the station to make a report.

“Yeah, I had to. I was still in New York at the time.”

“Well, you’re here now, and you’ve got friends who can help you.”

Desmon “giving me a place to stay” had been the perfect story to account for the fact that he’d driven me to work today in his Bentley Continental. The car had an impeccable cream leather interior with diamond stitching in gold thread, and I’d spent the entire drive being careful not to spill a single drop of my coffee.

I couldn’t believe it when thecar handed me my seat beltwhen I sat down. And then when I opened the door to get out, it had shone the Bentley logo on the ground to show me where to step. I mean, heaven forbid I should step on plain un-Bentleyed concrete!

Desmon had even asked if I wanted to turn on the massaging seats, but I’d politely declined, worried I’d get too comfy.

Anyway, despite having decided to dive headlong into whatever it was between Desmon and me, I wasn’t ready to explain the situation to Janice yet. So. Yeah. Great cover story.

The front door to the museum opened, and a frazzled-looking woman walked in holding an umbrella that had blown inside out. She was drenched, as were the kids trailing behind her. In the rear was a man in a similarly bedraggled state, trying to shepherd the youngsters into the museum.

“That’s my group,” I announced. “I’ll get them set up and dried off before we start the tour.”

“Good idea. Maybe have the kids take off their shoes, considering we are kind of short a daytime janitor for now.” Janice held out some shower-cap-like things to me, with little rubber dots on them. “And have the teachers wear these over their shoes.”

“Can I join the tour too?” asked Kaylee, one of the volunteers. “I haven’t even had a chance to look around yet.” She looked pleadingly at Janice.

“Why don’t you both go, shadow Carly on the tour? I’ll be fine at the front.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

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