Page 3 of Dragon Tempted

Sienna blinked. “My face tells you that I want to throat punch someone?”

“Absolutely. Do you want to talk about it?”

She looked out the window for a moment before responding. “Wallace asked when Adam was going to take over the clan again now that he’s recuperated. He seems to have conveniently forgotten that Adam’s injuries were from a witch who was working for his daughter.”

“I bet you reminded him of that.”

She nodded. “You know me too well. But most of the other clan leaders still aren’t taking the threats seriously.”

“And does this have anything to do with where we’re going right now? As your annoyingly good assistant, I don’t remember you having an off-site appointment.”

“I don’t. Or I didn’t. But I need to find a way to get the leaders to take things seriously.” To take her seriously.

He glanced over at her. “I’m not going to like this idea of yours, am I?”

“Nope.” But she needed to take the bull by the horns—or the dragon by the wings. It was time to meet John Baker. If anyone could get the other clans to listen, it would be him.

After all he’d been alive when the curse was cast over four hundred years ago.

Chapter 2

John Baker stood in the forest behind his cabin and closed his eyes. He felt a change in the air. A buzzing that sounded like one of those large rambling bumblebees teased his dragon senses, and he expanded them. Was something finally going to change? Or would it— he—continue as before?

He was mired in this damn centuries-old curse like quicksand. No…not quicksand, since that would mean being sucked down and finally put out of his misery from the never-ending loop he lived in.

How many times had he reinvented himself? Was he on his thirty-eighth last name now? And he’d lived in so many different places, but the steps were always the same. You can only stay in a place for so long before people question why you aren’t getting any older.

And he was alone. Everyone he cared about had died long ago. He couldn’t allow himself to care for anyone any longer. It was the only way to protect what was left of his tattered, barely beating heart.

But maybe, just maybe there was finally a chance to break this damn curse. Now that the Simonson brothers and their mates were involved, something was bound to change.

Hell, they’d found the scroll in the Death of Magic’s frame and had translated it to reveal the words used by his witch grandmother centuries ago when she tried to snuff dragons out of existence. Which was exceptionally bloodthirsty given the fact that he was half dragon.

Why were prejudices so all-consuming? He’d lived long enough to know that they didn’t make you stronger. If hate and ignorance filled your heart, it ate away at it and made you a shell of what you could be. Much like the curse that had not only damaged dragon magic, but all magic.

John looked up through the tall pine trees surrounding him. They seemed to form a tunnel highlighting the sky above. A sky he ached to fly across. But there was no use wishing for something that wasn’t meant to be. It had been almost a century since he’d been able to fly. Just thinking about it forced the breath from his chest.

A noise pulled him from his thoughts and had him turning. A car traveled down the gravel path toward his cabin. His nerves stood at attention. He didn’t get visitors often. Except for when Eric and Megan came to talk to him about the curse, or Tessa came to ask him endless questions after discovering she was a witch. Normally they let him know of their visits ahead of time.

John walked through the back door of the cabin to watch the approach through the window. He didn’t need to stand out in the open when he wasn’t sure who was there. He hadn’t been attacked in years, but he also hadn’t been this close to figuring out the curse either. He couldn’t be too careful.

The SUV that came to a stop had him breathing a sigh of relief. The Simonson clan drove black SUVs with tinted windows like they were some sort of law enforcement. He expanded his senses but didn’t recognize the driver or the female in the passenger seat. He did however sense that they were dragons. Dragons, from the look of things, who were having some sort of disagreement. Before he could expand his hearing to eavesdrop, the passenger door opened and the female emerged while the male stayed in the car and tracked her like a predator.

Even though he’d watched magic fade away over the years, the woman who walked toward his front door reminded him of a fairy tale. Beautiful wasn’t a sufficient word to describe her. Striking? Blond, wavy hair with designer sunglasses and curves that couldn’t be hidden under the dress pants and suit jacket she wore.

She came to a stop and pulled off her sunglasses when he stepped onto the front porch. Jesus. Her eyes were large, golden brown, and filled with determination. He was in trouble.

“John?”

“Whatever you want, the answer is no.” Okay, so her looks didn’t stop his bad manners from surfacing. But she needed to be on her way.

Her eyebrow rose slightly at his tone before she schooled her features. She stepped onto the porch. He hadn’t invited her to sit down, but she made herself comfortable in the chair. Which left him standing awkwardly, so he crossed his arms and stared down at her. She didn’t flinch. So much for sending her quickly on her way.

“What do you want?” he asked again, somewhat politely this time.

“I need your help.”

He scowled. “I don’t know you.”