The Dragon's Spellbound Alien Read online

  Warrick nodded curtly and left the Gothic mansion as fast as he could. He hopped in his van and sped away, grateful to have gotten out of there with his life. And his virtue.

  Cassandra Briarwood was danger with a capital D.

  Chapter Fourteen

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  Warrick called during Bianca’s lunch break to confirm their dinner plans and ask if there was anything he could bring.

  “Just yourself.”

  “I can’t wait to see you.” The anxious tone in his voice matched her own feelings on the matter.

  “Same here.”

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “What?”

  Warrick cleared his throat as if very uncomfortable. “Earlier today when I made the delivery of that cheval mirror I told you about, the female client wanted more from me than just the delivery, if you get my drift. She wanted me to go back to her house tonight so she could commission another project, but I think I was the new project.”

  Bianca’s heart fell to her stomach. “Oh? What did you tell her?”

  “I told her I couldn’t because my girlfriend was cooking me dinner.”

  Her heart rallied and soared. “Really?”

  “I swear.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Well, she was surprised that I had a girlfriend. If I were a more sensitive soul, I’d have been offended. Meanwhile, I was so grateful that you are in my life that I wanted you to know what happened.”

  “Thank you. That’s so sweet. Was she mad that you were unavailable tonight?”

  Warrick chuckled. “I don’t care, but yeah, she seemed rather put out.”

  Bianca was secretly thrilled. “Is it bad of me to not care about her happiness?”

  “No.”

  “Good, because I don’t.”

  “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Thanks for telling me.”

  “I can’t wait to see you.”

  “Bring your appetite.”

  He laughed. “No problem there.”

  The rest of her day passed quickly because she was so busy. The psychic reading business never seemed to slow here in Nocturne Falls.

  Her last client was a young woman named Ruby, who’d recently come to Nocturne Falls. She had to be over eighteen, as all Bubba’s Psychic Reading clients had to be, but she didn’t look much beyond that. She’d also been very difficult to read. Bianca couldn’t discern her last name, but gleaned a tidbit of information after some effort.

  “I see that you are looking for someone.”

  “You can see that?” Ruby asked.

  Bianca nodded, keeping her eyes shut and her palms flat on the table. The velvet beneath her fingertips tickled. “You are searching for a lost family member, right?” Her eyes opened to see Ruby gazing at her with seeming awe.

  “Yes. That’s right.”

  “I sense that you are a very strong person, Ruby. I genuinely hope you find what you’re looking for here.” The only other thing she saw in Ruby’s head was a photograph of a shield, but she couldn’t see it clearly and didn’t understand the significance.

  “I hope so, too. Thanks.” Ruby stood up abruptly.

  “Nocturne Falls is a truly wonderful place. Even if you don’t find what you’re looking for.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Ruby said as she walked out of the curtained room.

  Later that night, Bianca made up a big batch of barbecued ribs for dinner along with coleslaw and potato salad. Before leaving the apartment in the morning, she had put the baby back pork ribs in the Crock-Pot on low. When she got home from work, she took them out, cut them into nice-sized pieces, basted them with homemade barbecue sauce and baked them in the oven until they were fall-off-the-bone pieces of sticky wonderful goodness.

  Warrick arrived early and helped her get the table set. She pulled the ribs out of the oven and he sighed with pleasure. He proceeded to eat every single bite of what she made, licking his fingers when he was done. “I can honestly say those were the best ribs I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

  “Really? Or are you just saying that.”

  “Seriously, the best!” He started licking his fingers again while she cleared the table. “As a favor, don’t even tell me how many pounds of pork ribs I just ate.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’ll burn it off in no time,” she said with a smile.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you have an amazing body and I have no doubt you have great genes and you can probably burn off a meal with one quick flight around town in your dragon form. Right?”

  Warrick grinned. “Do you want to see me change into a dragon and fly around town?”

  “Not tonight.” She looked around her small apartment. “I suspect you get quite a bit larger than my apartment can accommodate.”

  He also looked around her apartment and nodded. “I could change into my half-dragon form.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I have the ability to take on some of my dragon qualities, but I stay more man-sized.”

  “Okay. Should I sit down?”

  “Whatever you’d like.”

  Bianca gave him some room, not quite sure what to expect. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and, poof! Suddenly he had changed into something different. She backed up abruptly until her butt hit the kitchen counter. He looked mostly like himself, but was maybe six or eight inches taller, and definitely bulkier. His skin took on a dark, ashy gray hue as a few light scales popped up on his arms. His eyes went from dark brown to black rimmed in bright green.

  She stared at him. He stared back and waved. She waved back. And then, poof! He was himself again.

  In her surprise, she must have put her hand to her chest in a very girly move, because she felt her heart racing under her palm. Oddly, she wasn’t terrified, just startled. It was Warrick, no matter what he looked like. “Interesting. You don’t really look like a dragon. But you definitely look different.”

  “Different in a good way?”

  “Oh, yes, definitely in a good way.”

  Bianca walked over, ready to blister his lips with a kiss and perhaps drag him to her bedroom. He saw her coming. He let her wrap herself around him. He even let her kiss him quite passionately. But then he pulled away and said, “I have to work tomorrow. I need my dragon beauty sleep.”

  “You sure need a lot of dragon beauty sleep.”

  “It’s true. And I know you’re afraid of bopping me on the head and dragging me to your bedroom. I’m trying to give you an out.”

  “What if I told you I’m not so afraid of that anymore?”

  “I can see it’s going to be a challenge this week.”

  “This week? I have to wait a whole week?”

  Warrick hugged her and gave her one more blazing kiss. “I haven’t told my mother that I know about the matchmaking contract yet. Perhaps I’m not ready to give her the satisfaction of knowing she made a perfect choice for me. I was hoping we could go together to meet my mother so she can start gloating about how she found the perfect girl for me.”

  “What you’re saying is you need a week to get used to the idea of your mother being right.”

  “That is correct.” A glint in his eye suggested maybe there was more to it, but she let it go. Likely having to tell his mother she was right was enough.

  Bianca laughed. “Okay, deal. In one week, we meet your mother, and from then on, we don’t have to stop at just kissing.”

  “Sure. Go with that.” Despite his teasing tone, something in his eyes made her again wonder what he wasn’t telling her. She gave him a few heartbeats, but when it didn’t look like he had anything else to say, she let it go. She’d let him keep his secrets. For now.

  For some reason, she thought about Ruby, out there searching for her lost family. Bianca was grateful she had a good family back in Arkansas she could visit whenever she wanted. She had a great work family with Bubba and Astrid at Bubba’s Psychic Readings. No
w she had Warrick, and the real potential for a new family as they embarked on this dating path where he called her his girlfriend and talked about a future together.

  She hoped Ruby found what she was looking for as well.

  Chapter Fifteen

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  Warrick had gone out with Bianca every night for almost a week, and sometimes for lunch if she could make it. Having his own business meant he could set his own schedule, within reason, so they worked around hers.

  They’d listened to music and danced at her place.

  Another night, this time at his place, he’d walked her to her car by way of showing her a very cool gazebo he’d built near the edge of the trees on his property. Beyond it, a trail led to a babbling brook that filled a very small lake. They sat on a carved bench he’d also built and tossed stones into the water, sending ripples across the lake in the moonlight.

  Last night they’d gone for a quiet dinner out.

  Tonight, they were back at his place, and he’d steeled himself to take the next step with her. Warrick wanted to show her his full dragon form and she agreed. After a while.

  It was a perfect night for skygazing. The sky was clear, the moon bright, but not so bright as to diminish the stars’ brilliance. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the trees and frogs and crickets joined the nightly chorus.

  Bianca perched nervously on a boulder at the edge of the clearing he favored for his full transformation. Her fingers tangled in her lap and she bit her lip. He strode to the center of the clearing and faced her.

  Warrick gave Bianca a reassuring smile and let the magic flow over him. Her jaw dropped as his perspective changed, moving higher, then higher until he looked down on her delicate little form on the boulder. The quality of his vision changed, too, as his eyes detected a wider spectrum than human vision. He’d never seen himself change into his full dragon form, but he’d seen other shifters do it and had to admit it was pretty spectacular. Her beautiful blond hair flew back from her face as he spread his wings and gave them a couple of gentle sweeps, not strong enough to lift him into the air, but enough to set stray leaves and the long blades of grass dancing around them. It felt good to stretch. He lowered his snout closer to her and inhaled appreciatively. She smelled even more delectable to his dragon senses.

  He heard her heart hammer as she licked her lips. He considered that it was one thing to know your boyfriend was a dragon, but quite another to see it.

  Warrick lowered himself until his belly almost touched the ground, angled the wing closest to her down and out of the way, then held out a clawed hand. He teasingly waggled one claw in a come-here gesture, ready to help her onto his back if she wanted a ride.

  Bianca spoke as if she didn’t notice his willingness to carry her into the air. Her butt stayed firmly on the boulder. “Well, that was really something, Warrick. Um, can you change back just as quickly?”

  A week ago, Warrick wanted nothing more than a girl who didn’t care that he was a dragon who could fly her wherever she wanted to go. Now, he felt a little deflated that the girl he loved acted like him being a dragon was a quirk she could do without.

  He snorted at his own contrariness, a thread of smoke curling from one nostril, and changed back to his human form.

  “There you are,” she said.

  “I was always here,” he said, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet.

  “Can you understand me when in your full dragon form?”

  “Yes, of course. Why didn’t you climb on my back?”

  Bianca looked surprised, but quickly pointed to her clothing. “I’m wearing thigh boots, a mini dress and my best faux fur jacket, which is white and difficult enough as it is to keep clean. I wasn’t really dressed for climbing tonight. Know what I mean?” Her eyes flitted away from his and she licked her lips.

  Was she still afraid of him? Was the love spell wearing off? Should he grab her and spirit her away to his mother’s house so she could keep the spell intact? No. Stop panicking. Don’t be an idiot. Just chill.

  “Good point.” He tried for a grin. “Maybe next time.”

  “Maybe.” She smiled back, but she didn’t seem excited about the prospect of climbing onto his back anytime soon. Warrick told himself he was happy about that. He hoped her restraint wasn’t because she feared his dragon self.

  “Are you ready to meet my mother tomorrow night?”

  Bianca nodded. “Yes. I can’t remember if I told you, but I did meet your mother one time. I didn’t mean to keep it from you, I just forgot.”

  He frowned. “You met my mother?”

  Bianca nodded. “She came into Bubba’s place last week. I did a reading for her.”

  “Am I allowed to ask what happened?”

  “You can ask. I won’t reveal anything specific, but it’s not like attorney-client privilege or anything.”

  “Could you read her thoughts? If so, I’m very sure there are only two things to see. First, I want grandchildren and second, how can I marry off my sons.”

  Bianca laughed. “Actually, I can’t read your mother. Bubba thinks it’s because she’s a witch. Apparently, witches are difficult for aliens to read. And I don’t mean your mother’s a witch in a derogatory way.”

  He chuckled. “In this town, ‘witch’ is never a derogatory term. And the truth is, my mother is a witch. But she’s a good mom and I love her.”

  “I’m glad you have a family you love. I have good family back in Arkansas.”

  “Do you miss them?”

  “Sometimes. But I like living in Nocturne Falls. It’s becoming my second home. And Bubba and Astrid are like my family away from home.”

  “I am very glad you moved to Nocturne Falls. If you couldn’t tell, I’m very serious about you.”

  “I’m very serious about you, too.”

  “Tomorrow, once you meet my mother—formally, this time—and we talk about the matchmaking contract, I’m still going want to keep dating you.”

  “Good, because I feel the exact same way. Is your brother going to be there?”

  “He can be. As long as it’s after dark.”

  “Oh, right.” Bianca leaned closer. “Does he really flame to a cinder if he gets hit by sunlight?”

  “No, but the light severely impacts his thinking and brain waves. By that, I mean he gets really stupid. He can’t walk and he can’t really function. I suppose that if he spent a really long time in the sun, eventually he might crisp up and blow away. We’ve never tested it.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  “It’s not so bad, to hear him tell it. He lives a very good night life and makes it a point not to be out in the sun unless every bit of his skin is covered and smeared with lots of sunblock.”

  “Well, if you haven’t, invite him. I’ve seen him a couple times this week, but I get the feeling he’s ducking me.”

  “He is?”

  “Yes. Both times I tried to talk to him, he seemed really busy and in a hurry and on his way someplace else fast. In his head all I could hear was, ‘Rubber baby buggy bumper,’ over and over.”

  Warrick forced a laugh. “Maybe he’s trying to keep you from reading his mind.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. I didn’t take offense. Probably I don’t want to know what he’s thinking.”

  “Probably. Even so, I’m glad you understand.” Warrick did a mental dance of joy that his brother had been smart enough to figure out a way to keep his thoughts hidden from Bianca.

  Maybe this was going to work out after all.

  Warrick would face his darkest moment tomorrow night. He was in love with Bianca and was afraid he’d find out that only the love spell bound her to him.

  He even loved being in love with Bianca. They had so much in common. They finished each other’s sentences. How would he ever find anyone as perfect as his beautiful spellbound alien?

  Chapter Sixteen

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  Bianca dressed carefully for the evening ah
ead. Warrick was going to pick her up and drive her out to his mother’s place. She was about to officially meet her boyfriend’s mother. But this time, Bianca had the advantage of knowing what his mother had been up to that day at Bubba’s Psychic Readings.

  Likely she’d been sizing Bianca up to see if she was good enough for her son. However their relationship came about, Bianca was happy. She was in love with a perfect guy and his mother already approved of her. Win-win.

  Once Bianca’s mother found out her eldest daughter was serious about someone, there would be another mother doing a dance of joy in Arkansas. When Bianca went back to Alienn for both of her sisters’ weddings, she’d have a plus one instead of facing blind dates. More wins.

  The knock at the door made her heart leap, but not as much as the sight of the man waiting on the other side of it. Warrick was early. He came inside and Bianca kissed him until he stopped looking worried.

  “I love you, Bianca. I really do.”

  “I love you, too, Warrick. Why are you so nervous? I’ve already met your mother. She chose me for your matchmaking contract. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

  He put his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing as if trying to smooth out tense muscles. “It’s not that. I need to tell you something else.”

  “Did another girl flirt with you today?”

  That earned a tentative smile. “No. Nothing like that.” He looked up. He looked at the floor. He pushed out a long sigh.

  “Spill it already.”

  “I think my mother put a love spell on you,” he blurted. And then looked like he wanted to bite off his own tongue.

  “What?”

  “Don’t make me repeat it.” Warrick took her hand, squeezing hard as if he feared she’d run.

  “A love spell,” she whispered to herself. Bianca considered her actions since meeting Warrick. The moment she’d seen him, Bianca wanted him. She wanted him now. But she didn’t feel like anyone was forcing this feeling. She had this feeling all on her own. Didn’t she?