To Match A Dragon’s Fire (Sulfur & Spice #1)

7

Ember

This Land is My Land

“You… You know who I am,” I stuttered, trying to keep my head on straight. It wasn’t only because of the way my name sounded rolling off his tongue. I’d never heard anyone speak that way in real life.

He sounded like a male smut book narrator. His voice was all deep and raspy. Chills ran down my spine and I had to force myself to focus on not drooling.

He sure didn’t belong around here. The ridiculously handsome stranger with a panty-melting voice was not who I’d expected to run into when I saw the monstrosity of a building in my front yard.

Of course, he was good-looking.

Fuckboys always are.

I wasn’t that short at five-eight, but he was taller than me by at least a foot. Broad shoulders stretched the thin material of his faded t-shirt. Muscles that probably came from too much time in the gym, even if the calluses on his hands and toolbelt slung over his hips said otherwise.

And that stupid chiseled chin with a dusting of stubble. The dark hair on his head was cut short and was damp from sweat. Eyes that a girl could get lost in, brown with hints of gold and red reflecting off the sun.

Something was different about those eyes. Deeper and almost reflective. I could see myself spending hours looking into them and trying to find the right words to describe the unique color…

But it was a good thing I was a full-grown woman and could ignore his masculine charms.

Because this man was a trespasser.

One who was standing on my land.

“You have nine minutes left to tell me who you are and why you know my name before it’s time for you to leave,” I said.

My dad would’ve told me that ten minutes of kindness was too much when facing a threat, but I’d grown soft living in the city.

The guy’s gaze swept over my face. His nostrils flared slightly as he sniffed. I probably smelled like two-day-old garbage, but I was not going to stand around and let him insult me.

“Eight minutes.” I adjusted the grip on my pistol. “My patience is wearing thin.”

His eyes continued their lazy perusal, not even glancing at my gun, as if an armed woman didn’t frighten him.

Ha. Joke’s on him.

I loved being underestimated.

He placed a booted foot against the wall and leaned back, folding his arms over his chest. The arrogant way he smirked told me he wasn’t planning on going anywhere.

My blood began to boil. “Seven min—”

“21819 Cherokee Lane, Portland,” he said .

It took me a second to process the change of topic, recalling the address from a distant memory.

The too-sweet taste of banana liquor. Plastic silver confetti stuck to the beige carpets after celebrating graduation.

Our old college crash house. The one I’d moved into for the last six months of my senior year, barely scraping up enough to cover rent with Riley and Willow splitting the bills while we partied like the seniors we were.

We didn’t get our rental deposit back.

“How do you—”

“13 Daisy Court, Apartment B.”

Gerald’s house. I gasped, holding the pistol steady as I took a cautious step back. “Are you stalking me?”

“42… No.” He frowned, pausing his rant. “Well… Yes. In a way, but not because I wanted to. You never stay in one place for long.”

“How do you know that?” I asked, ignoring the jab. I wouldn’t be shamed into apologizing for how I lived my life when I was dealing with my grief.

“2343 C. Sunset Cliffs Avenue, San Diego.” The stalker pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing as if I were the one giving him a headache.

I had a flashback to the few glorious months I’d spent on the beach with Kevin before he’d gotten all weird and tried to get me to join a cult.

“Is there a point to this?” I looked to my bare wrist. “You’re down to five minutes and you still need to pack.”

“My point is that my legal team has been sending notices over the past decade to every address you’ve stayed at for longer than five minutes. ”

The disgust in his tone had my instincts screaming to defend myself. I wasn’t flighty. I’d spent years discovering who I was after my whole world had been crushed.

But I didn’t dignify him with a response. This trespasser and apparent stalker had no right to my history.

“Notices for what?” I growled, stepping to the side and blocking the view of my Bronco with my body as he tried to look past me.

“I was hoping to be amicable by giving you notice to come retrieve your belongings off my property,” he said.

I almost shot him then and there. “Your property? This is my property. I’ve been paying taxes on it for the past twelve years. You don’t get to just walk up here and build a house and claim it for your own. This isn’t the old Wild West. There are laws about squatters and trespassers.”

Granted, this was an expensive-looking squatter. It must’ve taken him years to build. Years where no one bothered to chase him off.

People in town would’ve known he was here. They hadn’t stood up for me. Not like I’d expected much different from anyone after the way things had gone down with the divorce.

But ouch.

“If you’d have been around or reachable, you would know the law is on my side. The government seized this land about a decade ago.” He dug the knife in deeper and twisted, saying the one thing that hurt more than anything else.

I wasn’t here.

Not for the end .

My dad was alone when he fell off the roof, making repairs to the childhood home I hadn’t seen in over a year. He died by himself in this yard. I wasn’t here to hear him call out for help if he did. In his last moments, he had no one.

I blinked back tears, glaring at the trespasser.

“That’s not legal. My father had a will. This land is in my name and I’ve never missed a payment to the county.” I didn’t like this—the way his words were starting to sound like the truth.

It wasn’t possible.

Not after everything I’d been through.

“Your father’s will is invalid.” The trespasser sighed as something like pity crossed his face. “Eminent domain took precedence here. This site is a matter of national security and, as such, it’s been seized and reallocated.”

I figured out why no one in town had stopped him. If he walked around there spitting words like he worked for the government, most of the people I grew up with would’ve shut the door in his face.

They didn’t much trust our absent leaders and hadn’t for long before the government failed us during the last few years of decline.

But I wasn’t stupid. There was nothing of importance out here in bumfuck nowhere Oregon and parts of his story just weren’t adding up.

Plus, he was too hot to be a fed.

I raised my chin to meet his direct gaze. “Prove it.”

“Prove what?” He smirked. “That’s not my job. You’re the one trespassing. Call the county office if you don’t believe me. ”

My stomach dipped. “It’s Friday afternoon. The office will be closed until Monday. And we don’t get cell service out here.”

I just wanted to take a break and read my book, not deal with the people in town this soon after arriving or have to put up with this trespassing jerk.

“Go back where you came from.” He shrugged. “I’m sure you can use your phone there.”

The pistol was slick in my grip and desperation started to squeeze at my neck. The roads we’d traveled. The military checkpoints. Somehow, I knew we’d gotten lucky by leaving when we did.

And we’d come all this way.

Harper and Willow and Riley were in the Bronco, exhausted and worn out from the last few years. This was the hope they’d all been looking forward to.

I’d promised them a place to stay.

“I don’t know who you are,” my voice came out as a harsh whisper, “but this is my home. I grew up here. My family is buried here. I’ll die before I let you just walk in and take it.”

“I already did.” He arched an eyebrow. Why was it always the pretty ones that were such jerks?

“Screw you.” I fumed.

His nostrils flared in response.

Someone coughed behind him and we both looked. An elderly man sat grinning in a wheelchair as he watched us through the open window.

“My apologies, Master Kieran, but you didn’t remove the cabin which I’m assuming is the young woman’s home. Why can’t she stay there?”

“Because she can’t.” Kieran, or whatever his stupid name was, turned to me again. “I’ll fill up your gas tank and you can go back the way you came. Trust me. There is nothing here for you.”

That was the problem. I was starting to trust him. And I was terrified he wasn’t lying. That backed me into a corner. I wasn’t going down without a fight.

“I’m staying.” I tucked the pistol into my waistband and crossed my arms over my chest.

Kieran kicked himself off the wall and walked forward. His deliciously masculine scent crowded my space. Wood dust and something warm. Like cloves or allspice.

Whatever cologne he was wearing threatened to make me swoon, but I stood my ground.

It didn’t matter how good he smelled.

I wasn’t backing down.

“Listen.” His jaw ticked slightly, but his tone was softer than I expected. “I understand this is shocking news, but I’m willing to give you supplies if you need them. It’s not safe for you to—”

“I’m staying on my property.” I turned on my heel and put my middle finger in the air, giving him a view of my backside as I marched away.

∞

Three pairs of wide eyes stared at me from behind the windshield. I gave them my best reassuring smile, even though my heart was racing in the worst possible way.

I’d paid my property taxes. Some years I’d lived on rice and beans for a few months to save up the money. Even if my life was a disaster, I’d never let this place be taken away .

He wasn’t telling the whole truth. I believed he thought he owned this place, but things just weren’t adding up. I’d checked GPS view periodically over the years, and not once had I seen any sign of that monstrous home. It hadn’t sprung up overnight.

So when did it get there? And if the government had taken my property, didn’t they owe me payment under constitutional law?

I wasn’t that hard to find.

Come Monday, I’d be the first in line at City Hall, and I’d figure this out even if I had to talk to every single person in town to learn the truth.

“Is everything okay?” Riley asked as I slid into the driver seat.

“Everything is fine.” I shifted into drive. My teeth were grinding like my gears.

“Who is Mr. Tall-Dark-And-Handsome?” Willow asked from the backseat. My eyes met hers in the rearview mirror.

“What?” She shrugged. “I’m a widow, not blind.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I tried to keep my voice light. “He’s not staying for long.”

“May I point out that the reinforced concrete barracks-like structure makes it seem as though he plans to be here for a while?” Riley held Dobby’s cage as the cat started meowing again while the tires bumped over the rutted road.

As much as I appreciated her sense of humor returning, now was not the time.

“There’s been a misunderstanding,” I explained. “He thinks he owns this land, but I have the bank receipts proving otherwise.”

Because at the end of the day, that’s all there was to it. Follow the money to find the truth .

“I know that.” Willow frowned. “You wouldn’t even let me help you out three years ago when I tried to pay you extra for babysitting while you were saving for the bill.”

“You were going to use the life insurance money,” I grumbled. “That’s for you and Harper.”

“What’s life insurance?” Harper piped up from her car seat.

Crap. I always forgot how well she listened to what she wasn’t supposed to hear.

“Your daddy loved you very much. He left money for when he died so you and mommy would be taken care of,” I told her.

“They should call it death money then.” Harper nodded, turning to look out the window.

Willow mouthed the words, “Thank you.”

But Harper had already moved onto more interesting topics.

“Why is Mr. Handsome pulling the door off that old cabin?” she asked.

I slammed on the brakes, wondering how it was humanly possible for Kieran to get here this fast.

He marched into my old house like he owned the place. Fire raced through my veins as I put the Bronco into park.

“Looks like someone is ready for round two.”