Chapter Ten
Vorren did the unexpected—and swoonworthy—by catching the flaming ball inches from his face, then crushing the rock to dust.
Payton gasped, positive she was dreaming.
Behind him, a wide-eyed Rowan had her nose pressed to the glass door, miming “Did you just see that shit?”
Ignoring her, Payton stepped closer to examine Dragon Daddy’s hand.
No burn!
“How are you alive right now?” she asked, a little freaked the man appeared invincible. She glanced up. “And why are we being pelted with rocks?”
“Your mate is unstable,” Vorren said with a pointed look at Dailey.
“Mate? He’s not my—” She gulped as Dailey’s expression darkened. “Oh. Wow.”
Hermes eased Payton away from Vorren before facing Dailey. “Law Dog, you need to control your temper. You’re causing sky tantrums.”
“What the hell are you talking about? They aren’t coming from me.”
FWOOOOOOOSH—FWOOOOOOOSH.
Vorren dove, snatching two flaming balls out of midair like he was an MVP catcher for the Yankees.
Dailey paled. “I am! Why is this happening?”
“My guess?” Hermes pointed to the boots. “Titan magic mingled with Trickster and warlock.”
“For fuck’s sake!”
FWOOOOOOOSH—
Thankfully, Vorren was alert and saved the bar from certain disaster.
“Take a damned Valium, Lee, or you’re going to destroy Witchmere.” Payton impulsively reached for him and, in the process, slammed her tote into his stomach.
“Oomph!” He coughed and wrapped an arm around his middle. “Jesus, Pay. What the hell is in that bag? A brick?”
“Oh!” She drew out the egg and examined it for cracks. Finding none, she breathed a sigh of relief. “I was so worried you broke it.”
“Me?” he choked out.
“The egg is mine,” Vorren said.
She held it tighter. “Prove it.”
His dark brows shot up a second before he frowned. “How do you expect I should do that? Other than shifting into my dragon form again?”
“No, I already know what you are. I have eyes, Dragon Daddy. But you’ll need to prove it’s your egg. This could be a rival dragon’s egg, and you’re trying to decimate their entire line.”
He closed his eyes and rubbed the spot between his brows.
“It’s his,” Hermes confirmed. “The magical signature is exactly the same.” But he frowned as he glanced at the bar entrance. “Is your mate in the pub, Vorren? There’s an additional echo coming from someone inside.”
“My mate is dead,” he replied flatly. “She left me to protect our three unborn.”
“Three?” Payton gave her prize a sorrowful glance, then turned it over to Dragon Daddy. “I was really hoping to see it hatch.”
“There is something seriously wrong with you,” Dailey said. But he clasped her hand and squeezed to show he was only teasing. Leaning in, he lowered his voice and said, “I’m curious what it would look like, too.”
“Curiosity kills. Or it will in this case,” Hermes said. “You don’t want to be in the vicinity when a dragon egg hatches. The supercharged sulfurous purge will suffocate you and burn your eyes from their sockets.”
“To put Payton’s mind at ease, let’s go speak to the other signature’s owner, shall we?” Dailey suggested. The underlying steel in his tone said it wasn’t a suggestion.
“Good. I need a pitcher of margaritas,” she said with feeling.
He opened the door and gestured Vorren in, holding Payton back as Hermes followed.
“Wait a second, Wildfire,” Dailey said.
“What’s up? Is there a Payton booze ban, because I’m not down with that today.”
His grin flashed.
In a lightning-strike moment, it registered what was different about him.
“The curse has lifted!”
“I believe so, yes. I also believe it should’ve worn off a long time ago, but someone prevented it.” His expression read as forbidding, and Payton’s stomach flipped.
Surely he didn’t believe it was her fault, did he?
“No,” he said, reading her reaction correctly. “I don’t think you’re to blame. If I had to guess, I’d say my mother is.”
“Holy craptastrophe, that’s a helluva jump, Lee. Why would she?”
“To keep me angry with you.”
She closed her eyes against the truth, tired to her soul. Of course Mary-Alice would do whatever it took to keep them apart. Hadn’t she been at it since day one?
“That’s awful,” Payton said softly. “I’m so sorry. If I had any clue we’d accidentally cast a lasting enchantment that day, I’d have made sure Elara removed it. I swear.”
“I know, Pay. I think I always have.”
“How did you find out about your mom?”
“Mother. The word mom indicates someone with feelings who actually values their children,” he said tightly.
The pain in his eyes spoke of disillusionment, and she wished she could erase it. Standing on tiptoe, she touched her lips to his in a tender kiss.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Pressing his forehead to hers, he smiled. “You really have to stop apologizing for things out of your control.”
“This is a major about-face from last night when you were ready to lock me up and throw away the key.”
“If I lock you up, I want to be in the room with you. Then I’ll toss the key.”
She laughed, because this was the old Dailey, the guy with the naughty quips and wicked grins. The man she loved to distraction.
“We should see about our new dragon infestation,” she suggested.
He pointed at the bar’s signage. “I suspect our guy has been hiding under our noses the whole time.”
She glanced up.
The Winking Wyvern.
“Cory?”
“Yeah. What does anyone know of his past? He breezed in here four years ago and bought this place, without ever revealing a thing about himself.”
“And everyone accepted him because of his charming personality.”
“Got it in one.”
“Lead on, Officer Knob,” she said.
“You and Rowan should really come up with a new nickname for me.”
Turning toward the door, she shot him a flirty smile over her shoulder. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve always liked your knob.”
Dailey enjoyed the view as Payton sauntered into the bar.
It had only taken the lessening of Elara’s spell for him to remember how much he adored her. Although they both seemed to enjoy this new flirtation, a helluva lot needed to be resolved before they could mend their relationship, if they ever could.
It still boiled down to one thing: she left him at the altar.
At any point, they could’ve mutually ended things to save him the embarrassment of facing a roomful of their loved ones and having to explain she’d climbed out a window rather than marry him.
How was he supposed to reconcile the past to move into the future?
His heart contracted, and he fought to breathe. Why did it hurt just as badly, reliving the moment?
“Lee?”
Payton returned and laid her palm on his chest, easing the restriction. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t he be with a babe like you?” a passing construction worker asked, adding a wolf whistle.
“Yeah, baby, why don’t you ditch the loser and welcome a real man?” his friend called out.
A third opened his mouth, but the catcall turned into a screech as he spotted an entire arsenal of flaming rocks heading his way.
“Conniventia et duratus!” Payton shouted, instinctively encasing the mini meteor shower in water and freezing them. They still landed, likely stinging where they struck the men, but at least the trio didn’t turn into Roman candles.
“Nicely done,” Dailey rasped, finding it difficult to wrap his head around his latest ability to rain down hell.
“Why now?” she asked, her eyes studying him with concern. “And where did all the perverts come from?”
“In answer to both questions, I don’t know,” he admitted.
“Is Mary-Alice’s best-behavior charm breaking down?”
He barked a laugh. “She never enacted one of those. Where did you get that idea?”
“This place was always too idyllic, as if everyone were under an enchantment to make this the perfect wonderland.”
Was it? Dailey couldn’t seem to recall.
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s find the egg’s magical echo, get a drink, and maybe see if anyone has a spare chill pill for you.”
“It’s illegal to—”
“Dude, really? You’ve got emotion-activated astral discharges popping off without any warning, and you’re worried about the legality of one prescription pill?
” Without a by-your-leave, she ripped the badge from his chest and stuffed it in her purse.
“You’ll get it back when you aren’t trying to murder everyone who triggers you. ”
“When did you get so bossy?” he asked, barely suppressing a chuckle.
“Not sure, but I think it was over the last twelve months. I’m a take-charge kind of gal now.”
“I like it.” And he did. Although rebellious in the past, she tended to follow where Rowan or Dailey led. Rarely had she actually stood up for herself, preferring to flip someone off and flee. Not dissimilar to her best friend. Both women had a strong flight gene.
Payton rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“No, I do. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’ve grown up.” He tipped up her chin. “And at our age, it’s about time, wouldn’t you say?”
Hurt was reflected in her eyes, and her compressed mouth said she had no intention of telling him he’d bumbled it.
“Talk to me, Wildfire. Please don’t bottle it up. Not again.”
“If I open that can, worms will explode in every direction,” she confessed.
He understood, but he also knew if she didn’t voice her feelings aloud, they’d never resolve a damned thing. Drawing her into his embrace, he kissed her temple. “We’ll start small. Maybe let one out at a time, deal with it, then bring out another. Does that work for you?”
She paused to consider, nodding when she finally reached her decision.