Chapter 10
ADRIAN
The next day, William left after breakfast. He announced that he was quitting shortly after the butler had served us bacon, and then he was gone within the hour.
I had no idea what exactly had made him change his mind, but I had a suspicion that his conversation with Tyrel the day before had something to do with it.
"Do you know why he's leaving?" I asked Zane.
Zane shook his head. "Not really, no. He wasn't very talkative."
I should have been glad that the competition was shrinking, but I didn't like the idea that the poor guy could have been bullied out. Still, for now, there was nothing I could do about it.
Early that afternoon, Tyrel's mother summoned us into the living room for tea. We all took seat in around a small table in armchairs that appeared more comfortable than they were.
"Since there were some questions last night, I thought it'd be wise to impart you all with a little bit of information." She didn't look at me as she said it, but she didn't have to. Everyone knew who she was really talking to.
I sat quietly in my seat and listened. Information was good, no matter what had prompted her into giving it.
"Whoever of you is accepted for this job in the end will become part of my family.
Of our family. They're not going to be an employee.
" She stressed the last word. I tried not to wince.
"The reason we're going through this whole process of elimination is so that we'll find someone who we'll be happy with, and who will in turn be happy with us.
For this reason, my son is going to take each of you on a date this week. Any questions so far?"
"I have one," Bernard spoke up.
I looked at him in surprise. So far, he hadn't seemed the type to ask questions. Just the big burly guy who got along with everyone and wouldn't raise a fuss. "Did William leave because he wanted to or was he eliminated, as you call it?"
"He left of his own free will, I assure you. I received his resignation with regret." She looked around the room. "Any other questions? If not, I'd like to proceed."
We nodded for her to go ahead.
"Excellent." She looked at the butler. "Paul, dear, is the tea ready yet?"
"Of course, Madame."
Was she really going to pretend we were gathered here to enjoy afternoon tea together? Well, her house, her rules, I supposed. Paul brought tea for all of us while the lady of the house continued talking.
"We'll start the dates with Michael tonight." She looked at Michael. "Is that all right with you, dear?"
"Sure."
"Excellent. Tomorrow night, it would be Bernard's turn, and then Zane's."
Bernard and Zane nodded.
She smiled. "Adrian would be the last to go.
I hope that's fine? Good, good," she continued on without waiting for a response from me, but what should I have said?
What could I have said? I didn't make the rules here—she did.
And she was giving me to understand that she was very well aware of that fact.
"In the meantime, I'd like for you all to meet with our family's physician to ensure your health and…
fertility." She looked at me as she said the last word.
Fuck. I didn't know whether I was being completely paranoid or she knew something about me and Rory and why we'd split.
She could have done background checks. She could have talked to Rory.
I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath, feeling like the walls were closing in on me.
Calm down.
But she knows!
"Are you alright, dear?" she asked me.
I nodded. Then I grabbed one of the tea cups and pretended to take a sip even though it was too hot to drink still. She sipped at her tea as well, but nothing about what she did looked pretend. Maybe dragons couldn't get burned. I wondered about this for a moment until she looked at me again.
This time, her eyes glowed.
What… No!
"Are you quite sure, dear?"
Tell her what you're afraid of.
The thought shot through my head. Her magic felt similar to Tyrel's, but not quite the same. Whenever Tyrel put a thought into my head, it felt almost like my own. What he did was more subtle, but not less powerful.
"I'm afraid of doctors," I made myself say, because I had to give her something. Hopefully, she wouldn't be able to tell that it wasn't the truth. Tyrel had said my power to resist was rare, she wouldn't suspect that I could do it, would she? In any case, I wasn't sure that I wanted her to know.
"I assure you our physician is a very nice man. There's no reason for you to be afraid."
I nodded again.
She dropped the topic and turned her attention away from me.
I released a quiet breath of relief. From the corner of my eye, I looked at Tyrel, who'd watched our exchange passively.
He must know what had just happened, but he showed no sign of it.
He didn't even acknowledge my existence until we'd finished tea and I was on my way back to my room.
He caught up to me in the hallway.
"Adrian. A word?"
I stopped walking and let the others go on ahead. "Alright."
He waited until we were alone, and then he dragged me along with him into one of the rather spacious bathrooms.
"You can't let her get to you," was the first thing he said once we were alone.
"What are you even talking about?" It wasn't like I had no idea, but I was irritated with this situation and with his mother and with him for standing by. More and more I was wondering whether this was really a household I wanted to belong to.
"She knows," he explained, or at least, he tried to explain, because I didn't understand. What did she know? About my powers? About me and Rory? Neither of that was good. I felt cold sweat break out on my skin as I waited for Tyrel to elaborate.
"What does she know?"
"Paul saw me head into your room yesterday, and he told her."
"Oh."
"Oh? You don't seem to understand how bad this is."
I shook my head. "You had me thinking she knew more than that."
"What do you mean?"
"I thought she might know about my powers."
Tyrel narrowed his eyes at me, as if he suspected that there was something I wasn't telling him.
I wondered if he remembered our date in the café, and why I'd first resisted him.
I wondered whether he was still interested in that conversation.
Whether he'd try to get it again. If so, now was not the time, and he seemed to realize that, too, at least.
"She knows I've taken an interest in you. It's only a matter of time until she figures out why."
"You say that like it's impossible you could simply find me hot."
He gave me a wry smile. "You have to understand I was against this arrangement from the start. I didn't want any of it. In truth, I don't much like associating with humans. You're all so fragile and weak-minded."
"You mean we're easy to push around because you have magic."
For a second, I feared he might take offense, but then he grinned instead, showing a hint of sharp teeth. "Yes."
"If you don't like humans, why mate one?"
"That was my mother's idea. She believes I need to correct my opinion of humans and also that a mixed gene pool is a good thing. She wants a strong heir."
"Wouldn't a pure dragon be stronger than a mixed one?"
Tyrel laughed softly. "You'd think so, but I'm mixed, and I'm exceptional."
"You're mixed?" Come to think of it, where was his father during all this?
"My father was human."
"Was?"
"Indeed." He didn't say any more on the topic, and I felt it was something he didn't want to talk about, so I backed off.
"You can't let my mother know about your power," he said eventually.
"Just because she believes in mating with humans doesn't mean she believes they should be equal to us, I'm afraid. "
I nodded slowly. I'd gotten that vibe from her. "You realize I can't spend my whole life hiding from your mother."
"I'll take care of it. But for now, don't draw her attention unnecessarily."
"So if she tries to force me to do something…?"
He sighed. "Comply. I don't think she caught your lie earlier."
But you did.
"Give me one reason I shouldn't just walk out," I said.
"Oh, you absolutely should." He took a step toward me and then another, until he was close enough for me to reach out and grab him and kiss him.
I didn't do that, but damn if I didn't want to.
"But you won't." He shot me a smile as if he knew exactly what was going on in my head.
"Because I made you a promise, and you want me to fulfill it. "
"When?" I asked.
"Soon."
"I need something better than that."
He regarded me for a moment, and then he closed the last bit of distance between us and kissed me.
A surprised sound escaped me, and then I shuddered against him as his tongue swept over my lips, encouraging me to open up.
After a second, I did. His kiss was just like him.
Forceful, demanding, and yet somehow toeing the line between too little and too much.
I wanted more of him. I wanted him to push deeper.
But he didn't give me more. Instead he broke away, looked into my eyes, said, "We'll continue this," and then he left the room.
When I got back to my room, someone knocked on my door, only seconds after I'd entered. I sighed, but said: "Come in."
I'd feared it might be Tyrel or his mother or someone equally unwelcome at this moment. But it turned out to be Michael.
"Oh," I greeted him. "It's you."
"Yeah." He scratched his neck as he closed the door behind himself. "Who were you expecting to see?"
I shook my head. "Never mind."
His expression grew serious. "I was just wondering if you were in trouble or something. With Will just leaving this morning and Tyrel catching up with you in the hallway…"