A Way to a Dragon’s Heart Read online

  She dropped into the large high-back chair and gestured for them to sit.

  Dominic offered his hand. “It’s official? Congratulations. I had heard your dad retired, but I didn’t know you boys had completely taken ownership. You’re only thirty, right? The youngest in the family, like my baby girl here?”

  “Yes, sir, I turned thirty this past March,” Xander confirmed.

  Kryssa shot a look at her brother as he once again reminded her that at a mere thirty-three she was still the baby of the family at less than half his age.

  “I know I’ve heard these details several times but I forget. Did you major in business at university, Xander?”

  “He has a degree in communications and women’s studies,” Kryssa answered. “He got roped into the family business just like I did.”

  Dominic looked between the two of them. “Did communications cover the English language? I could switch to something else if it means you’ll let him speak for himself.”

  She occupied her mouth with another large bite and attempted to stare daggers at Dominic. The visible thrills of pleasure moving directly from her taste buds to the rest of her body brought her up short, but she tried anyway.

  “Yes, sir, it included English. But everything she said is accurate, so I don’t mind.” Xander smiled.

  Dominic looked between the two of them again. “Kryssa’s always been about the details. She knows every employee’s name and never forgets a birthday. After all the lunch dates you two have had, I’m not surprised she knows so much. How long has it been anyway?”

  Xander paused. “Over two years now I guess. The conversations just kept getting longer and longer until I finally had to make her my last stop just to ensure everyone on the other floors I cover got fed.”

  He laughed, and Dominic laughed with him. Kryssa chewed in suspicion.

  “You’ve managed two years with her? It must be that ingenious combination of communications and women’s studies. If I knew you could go to university to learn how to talk to women, I’d have gone back to school years ago. How much do you think it’s helped you navigate my sister?”

  Kryssa was too interested in the answer to be offended by the question. Personally, she suspected it had helped Xander a great deal and would happily put every male she knew through the course load.

  “I couldn’t say how much it’s helped, if at all, but I have an A.A.S. that I know has made all the difference in our interactions,” he said with a sly grin that she answered with a laugh.

  Dominic arched a brow. “An associate of applied science degree that helped you more than communications? It has to be either Therian Sexual Development or Culinary Arts.”

  Kryssa smiled at the heat that crept into Xander’s face. She wanted to walk over and lick his cheek to taste the hot blood beneath his skin. Then again, she wanted to taste him every time she saw him. He had skin the color of rich peanut butter cookies and short wavy hair the exact hue of pecan pie. Darker lashes framed large bright irises of ground thyme that sparkled in the light thanks to that non-human fourth of his DNA.

  She didn’t need a shrink to let her know equating everything about him to food spoke of a different hunger altogether. She just wasn’t ready to go there again so soon. Her brother couldn’t believe she’d been single for two years, but it had been rather easy to stay that way. Once she’d focused in on work with the goal of moving her sabbatical up, there hadn’t been time to think about dating. Sex, yes, dating and the trouble of relationships, not so much.

  For someone never embarrassed about anything, it was embarrassing to be embarrassed about the cause of her last break-up. She’d let everyone except Dominic think she was simply too over the relationship to even talk about its demise. She couldn’t explain that she’d shifted in front of Landon for the first time, and from his reaction, all bets had been off. The last positive communication she’d given him was the flower arrangement she’d sent him in the hospital while he was recovering from their falling out.

  “It was Culinary Arts, sir. I went to Kendall College here in Chicago.”

  Dominic smiled, obviously impressed. Kryssa knew Pam, the commissary’s executive chef, had gone to Kendall, one of the many details Dominic had shared after his date with her.

  “Kryssa must adore you.”

  “Are you kidding, Nicky?” she chimed in. “He’s a pastry chef and a living incarnation of the Food Network.” She ticked off points on her fingers. “He’s handsome, socially educated, culinarily inclined and he brings me food every day. Not to mention he’s got a gorgeous boyfriend who has given permission to share details. With Caitlin out on maternity leave, he’s my favorite person in the entire building right now, and at least a six block radius. Not counting you of course.”

  *

  Xander chuckled and ran a hand over his neck. Suddenly the black short sleeve T-shirt and dark blue jeans seemed as stifling as a wool blanket. He felt entirely too warm and was thoroughly sure he failed to hide it from the two Shifters. He was used to Kryssa’s compliments and flirtations. Caitlin teased him mercilessly about them to his delight because it meant she saw the depth of attraction too. But with Dominic present, it felt different somehow. Each word seemed more important as the older man scrutinized him.

  “See?” He smiled to Dominic. “Better than communications, or at least just as good, since it gives us a lot to talk about. In fact, if I didn’t own part of the deli, my brothers would have fired me by now for the two and three hour lunch breaks I have to take when I come over.”

  He pushed the cart from the doorway of the inner office all the way to her desk. It gave him something to do to avoid looking at either of them for the moment. With his expression obscured, he smiled to himself, knowing he’d exaggerated his brothers’ displeasure a bit. In truth, once his brothers had found out about Kryssa, they’d been all but pushing him out the door every day to come see her.

  He glanced up at her with the thought and grinned. “And, despite what Kryssa says, for the record, Caleb’s not my boyfriend, just a great friend and occasionally my lover, in an off-again, on-again, currently off-again sort of way.”

  The off-again part had his siblings concerned. Xander remained the only one in his family not in a stable, long-term relationship with at least one mate, and his brothers treated it like an affliction. Most of the time when he and Caleb were off-again, it felt like an affliction. But every trip over to Kryssa’s office changed that. Her no-dating policy had cramped his plans for romance, true, yet coming over each day made him feel less alone.

  “With that kind of daily dedication, how do the two of you manage when she’s away on business?” Dominic asked.

  “Skype,” they said in unison.

  Dominic just stared at them. Xander understood. If you didn’t have that kind of friendship, if you didn’t need it the way he did, you couldn’t get the dedication. He loved having someone who knew him better than his own family because she listened to all the things they didn’t. She knew where he wanted to live, what he wanted to do with his life, how he felt about his family, the deli, Caleb and everything. Everything, including her—for all the good it did. But every relationship had a snag or two, they’d work it out. A Luciano never gave up.

  He moved rapidly and set a bottle of water, napkins, and warmed plate from the steam drawer before her. With the necessary silverware and a second sandwich produced next, round two began. Xander smiled at her brother as she finished the last few bites of the first one.

  He explained, “The first is an appetizer. The main course has been soaked just shy of falling apart and then wrapped quickly. It can be a wonderfully sensuous disaster of a mess when you eat it with your hands, but it’s hard to convince her to do that at work.”

  Dominic nodded. “And with her working twenty-hour days, seven days a week, work is about your only chance to see her at all.” He frowned at Kryssa, but she ignored them both in favor of the food.

  “I plan to change that soon. I haven’
t ruled out kidnapping as a possible method. I’m just checking the law and figuring out if it’s still a felony after she swoons into my arms and declares her undying love.” Xander smiled, ignoring the pull of worry. Undying love might be a stretch, but he knew when friendship had become something more. He just needed the chance to see if things could hold up outside of the comfort zone of her office. He had to know if a real possibility existed for things to become more than afternoon get-togethers and late night phone calls.

  “Just a second,” she chimed in. “First, let me point out that just because you take a break, it doesn’t mean he’s not your boyfriend. But as you will, you have a gorgeous lover, and you share details. So you’re definitely my favorite person.” She smiled at him with a tilt of her head. “Second, let’s talk about this kidnapping-slash-undying love thing. When did you start planning this?”

  She smiled, but the look in her eyes remained unreadable. Before he could regret opening this line of questioning and letting his mouth move ahead without double-checking with his courage—or lack thereof—they were interrupted.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Chrissie! I’ve finished learning the break room.”

  Xander looked from the beaming girl to Kryssa and then over to Dominic, who looked ready to duck and cover. The bouncy blond came over and held out her hand to Xander.

  “Hi, I haven’t met you yet, I’m Cassie, her new assistant. Isn’t that neat, Chrissie and Cassie? C and C? I just know we’re going to be great friends.”

  Xander shook her hand, somewhat dumbstruck. He went for the most obvious flaw in her sentence and then decided it wasn’t his place to speak on the impossibility of friendship. So he went for the second flaw instead. “It’s Kryssa, and it’s with a K. It’s right there on the door where you came in.”

  A bright smile and accepting shrug were his only reward. “Oh, that’s okay. I mean, I can be Cassie with a K, right?”

  He watched both Dragons actually flinch at the high, grating laughter the girl let loose and stepped out of the way in case of a sudden stampede to the door. Not that Kryssa would likely abandon the food. She’d started eating as if they’d never been interrupted and the girl didn’t exist. But the set of her shoulders told him she took in every word.

  “We’ve been having a great day. Krys-sa has been teaching me all about Dragon Shifters this morning. Did you know she was warm blooded?”

  Xander bit his lip and nodded. “Therians are mammals, regardless of what they shift into.” He said it in the slow, higher pitched tone one would use with a toddler.

  She went into a slow nod of discovery, and he caught Kryssa’s telltale flinch in his periphery. “That’s what she said too. Isn’t it just wild? Hey, does that mean she doesn’t lay eggs either?”

  He leaned forward as if covering the distance might mean less strain on her IQ. Again, he spoke slowly and deliberately. “Mammals. They’re mammals. Duck-billed platypus and spiny anteater aside, mammals don’t lay eggs.”

  A big Bambi blink of puzzlement. “Spiny anteaters? You mean porcupines? They lay eggs? Are there were-porcupines?”

  Kryssa got to her feet, Xander got to Kryssa, and Dominic got to the temp and got her out of the room while the getting was good. A muffled explanation about another department needing her across town drifted through the door, and then the two were out of earshot for Xander.

  He rubbed Kryssa’s shoulders, turning the symbolic restraint into an impromptu massage. At six feet six inches, he was one of the few non-Therians taller than she was even in her modest heels, which made her six feet three inches at most. He knew the height advantage contributed to the comfort factor, and he went into full soothing mode.

  “She’s gone,” he coaxed. “She’s gone. We can sit down and have lunch and forget any of this ever happened. In fact, we’ll never speak about it again.” He pressed his cheek against her hair and hid his smile in the abundant curls. “Although I freely admit I’ve never seen a living bobble-head before, and I’m deeply fascinated. When you take out the part where you looked homicidal, it was so painful as to be funny.”

  Kryssa kept her feet and took a long swallow of water. The moment the bottle touched down on the desk, she turned without preamble and caught Xander in a kiss. His body—way ahead of his mind on these things—jumped into it with both feet. By the time his brain caught up, his arms were already wrapped around her and interesting things were happening elsewhere as he shaped her to him with his embrace.

  Her tongue explored his mouth like there’d be a quiz on it later. He hoped it counted for the half the year’s grade because she put all the right effort into it. The unexpected displays of intimacy and affection were by far the best thing about their daily lunches and the thing that kept him holding out hope. By the time she broke the kiss, he’d almost forgotten such a thing could actually end.

  “Thank you.” She said it against his lips as she took in a steadying breath.

  He answered with a shaky smile. “I was just about to say the same thing. You know these sudden moments where you have to quell the sexual tension between us by throwing yourself into my arms is my favorite part of our friendship. What brought on this particular kiss by the way? I want to do it again quickly and see if we come out of it with fewer clothes.”

  She took a deep breath and laughed, laying her head on his shoulder. “She drove me crazy all morning, and every time someone spotted us, they ran in the other direction. You’re the only one who got it. You’re the only one who tried to help me.”

  Not quite the declaration of undying passion he would have liked, but it would do. Her arms were around his neck, her hand playing in his hair. The blazer had come undone, and her soft laughter pressed lace-covered breasts against his chest. It didn’t really matter what she said in the moment. As moments went, it rated right up there as reasons to hang on.

  “I could run out and retrieve her then save you again. I see good things in my future from it.”

  She held him closer, as if keeping him in place. “No thank you. But you know,” she said, lifting her head to smile at him, “you’re also the only one that recognized she was a bobble-headed, body-snatching demon from the third rung of hell. For that alone, I may have to bear your young.”

  “Agreed. Does today work for you? My vacation starts in six hours.”

  Well, his mini-vacation started. There would be some business thrown in there as well. But first it would be a few days, maybe a week, spent up north at the cabin, surrounded by nature and little else, a chance to get back in touch with what he wanted to do with his life without all the distractions of life to confuse things. The last three weeks would be spent in the tourist-filled art community to reconnect with that side of him and check out the bakeries and restaurants interested in carrying some of his specialties. Although, if he was honest, only one bakery mattered.

  “Your vacation, yes; I’ve been wanting to ask you about that all day. I got an email from Caleb. Eternal Delights is still doing wonderfully.”

  Eternal Delights stood as the hottest new eatery in Port Jacobs and just happened to be owned by Caleb James. Caleb had called him six months ago with an offer Xander couldn’t help but consider—a pending partnership in a thriving business that encompassed everything the two had dreamed up while still in culinary school. They hadn’t broken up after graduation so much as drifted apart to fulfill the obligations they each had back home, coming together every few months like a long-term tide.

  No matter how he tried to tie it up in his mind as a business vacation, the truth remained. He’d be spending time away with one lover while trying to figure out how to gain the commitment of a new lover. Not exactly the kind of thing they put in the brochure for the touristy town, but Xander was willing to juggle the drama if everything worked out in his favor.

  “Come on, I want to hear everything,” Kryssa insisted.

  She came out of his arms with what he chose to believe was reluctance. She sat back do
wn, gesturing to pull the chair across from her closer. The front of his body radiated with her warmth and a generous bit of his own. He brushed his hand just shy of his chest as he moved into his usual lunch spot and took his seat.

  “So, is everything set for the drive up there?” she asked. “Groceries delivered, water tank flushed, vents checked, circuits cycled, the whole nine yards?”

  Xander nodded and pulled out his own lunch. The scent of baked spaghetti filled the room as he explained those things taken care of on his palm-top and the details he’d had to call the caretaker to cover in person. She beamed over every little thing as she took their plates and swapped out half of each dish like always. It depressed him to think he’d be eating alone for a full week. If he took his laptop, it could be his turn to Skype in from the road and ensure he wouldn’t be alone. Assuming of course Caleb stayed away long enough to make it matter.

  “So what about Caleb? You know he’s got more than baking and business in mind. Your month off is going to become two, easily.”

  Yes, he knew, and he wished she didn’t sound so enthusiastic and encouraging about it. She and Caleb had hit it off beautifully the moment he brought Caleb to meet her, and Xander probably talked about him more than he should—every time they spoke, for instance. Still, not a reason for her to try to pawn him off on his old flame. Not that he was really an old flame, more an ongoing-but-with-little-guarantee-of-a-future-together, kind of…never mind. Caleb. She didn’t have to pawn him off on Caleb.

  “Yes, I know he does, and as usual, he’ll draw things out to fit his own desires. But the opportunity is something I can’t turn down without at least considering it.”

  She looked confused and shook her head. “Wait a minute, what do you mean ‘without at least considering it’, as if you shouldn’t consider it just because he wants to be with you? You don’t get more perfect than sharing your dream with a gorgeous guy who then goes out of his way to build you your very own place. What’s not to consider? Are you insane?”