Page 76 of Dragon Tempted

“I am going to meet with her. We’ll put the same precautions in place like we did at the university.”

John blew out a breath and let the words fade around him to a slight buzz. After a while he realized the buzzing had stopped. He blinked and found that the office was empty with the exception of Sienna.

She watched him for a moment and took a step closer to him. He tensed and the immediate frown on her face told him that she noticed. “You’re not okay.”

He hadn’t been okay in centuries. “Where did everyone go?”

“Bella should be getting up from her nap soon, and Lily is finishing with school. Adam and Eric have a call with some potential new customers for Simonson Aeronautics. And I asked Marcus and Ryan to talk to Jonas.” She took another step. “Now tell me how you feel?”

John put on his best glower. “I don’t need a counseling session.”

Instead of being put off, Sienna smirked at him. “Oh boy. You showing me Grumpy John tells me I hit a nerve.”

How did she read him so well in such a short time? “You didn’t hit a nerve. I’m fine. I should be asking you how you’re feeling after what happened earlier.”

“And now you’re lying and deflecting. What didn’t you tell us about your flashback earlier?”

His stomach somersaulted. “I told you that I saw the bowl. What else do you want to know?”

Her eyes softened. “How did you come to the conclusion that the bowl was used in the curse?”

He paused, trying to decide what to tell her.

“John, if we aren’t honest with each other, we can’t hope to break this curse.”

He sighed. “Holding the bowl took me back to the day of the attacks. I was sitting at the table and my grandmother came into the room with something, but I don’t know what it was. I tried to get up, but someone behind me pushed me back into the chair, grabbed my arm, and held it out over the bowl.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you, John. That you lived it and now had to relive it.” She stepped close to him and wrapped her arms around his middle. Hadn’t she gotten enough hugging from everyone else earlier?

He froze, breathing in her citrus scent. His arms had a mind of their own as they enveloped her. The dance they’d shared was wonderful, but this? They slotted together like they were made for each other’s arms. The thought was like a bucket of ice water.

He stepped back from her, and it was Sienna’s turn to scowl.

“Your brothers didn’t like you holding my hands earlier. They definitely wouldn’t like seeing us embracing.”

Her eyes flashed in defiance. “Last time I checked, they weren’t in charge of me.”

He sighed. “Sienna. My first priority is breaking this curse. I can’t…” He stopped, not knowing how to finish his thoughts.

“You can’t what? Allow someone to comfort you? To feel something that isn’t anger and guilt?”

Her words were like a punch to the gut. “I can’t afford to be distracted right now.”

Instead of being upset, Sienna smiled, her eyes dancing. “You saying I’m a distraction, Mr. I’m-A-Cranky-Island?” She chuckled. “Whoa. That frown is next-level scary. Good thing you don’t scare me, Unka Gumpy.”

What the hell? There was no protection from this female.

Her phone pinged and she pulled it out of her pocket. “It’s a text from Jonas. The three H brand is for an antiquities company called Hocking, Hartford, and Hollingsworth. They have a website. Their auction house is located in Brentwood.”

“Except we don’t know if they’re legitimate or not.”

She nodded. “I’ll have Jonas dig some more into the business. Do you have something else in mind?”

“I know someone I can reach out to. He’s based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and is also known for procuring items at a cost. Maybe he can tell us if these guys are legit.”

“Procure as in steal?” she asked.

“I didn’t say that.” But that’s what he meant. The less Sienna knew, the better. He walked over to his journals that were sitting on the desk and picked up the most recent one. Flipped through the pages until he located the name and number he needed.