5. Dragon
Chapter Five
DRAGON
Iwent to the compound.
I needed to know what Horse really wanted so that I could give it to him, and the only person in the world who could read people like she read minds was Jezabel.
I found her in her menagerie, looking pale and lackluster as she brushed down Snowdrop. She didn’t seem to notice me, hear me, wrapped up in her own thoughts.
I cleared my throat, and she turned, a gun in her hand while the brush fell to the ground. It took her a minute to re-holster.
“Trix. Why aren’t you enjoying alone time with Horse after he sprung you from prison?”
“What does he want?”
She studied me with narrowing blue eyes that grew icier and icier. “What does he want? You mean, ‘What do I, Trixie O’Hara, want?’”
I shook my head and started pacing. “He agreed to marry me, but he wants handmade rings, like Nix and Sunshine. Do you think he’d like a wedding in the desert under the stars?
He has this streak of sentimental that he keeps hidden.
Maybe he wants to continue to keep it hidden, and me exposing his love of constellations would actually be a betrayal of his trust. But I want him to have the wedding he really wants, not the one he pretends to want. Do you know what I’m talking about?”
I turned to peer into Jezabel’s eyes, and what I saw wasn’t good. Pain.
I looked over the rest of her and noticed the way she was hunched slightly, like she was protecting her left ribs. “Did Marcus bite you?” I asked, looking around for the extortionist mountain lion that Jez had nursed back to health after he stepped in a bear trap many years ago.
“It’s only a scratch.”
I leaned closer and sniffed. “Antiseptic. Blood. Raw flesh. Deep. Probably a knife wound. Did Daniela stab you?”
She rolled her eyes and bent to pick up the brush, very clearly favoring her injured side. “She’s an artist with her glass knives, and it would be an honor to be stabbed by her. No, it was just a thing.”
“A thing?” I crossed my arms and scowled at her. She’d threatened Horse over my safety, and now she wasn’t being safe? “A thing that you should go to the hospital for?”
She flashed a grin at me. “It’s like you care. I was shot and stabbed, but I took care of it. I actually had a friend of mine help.”
“A friend? Minx? Felicia?”
She hesitated. “Unknown, but apparently a friend since he didn’t let me die.”
“Ah.”
We studied each other for a few beats before I shrugged. I really didn’t want to get involved in Jezabel’s shadowy hobbies. It would be like getting involved with my family. “So what kind of wedding would Horse like?”
She returned to brushing her beast. Snowdrop was getting old, so old that he didn’t bare his teeth at me and stomp threateningly, just glanced at me like he was too tired to care. “Why are you asking me instead of him?”
Oh. Why wasn’t I talking to Horse? The thought of him was enough to send me into a slight spiral of mindless desire.
“We wouldn’t be talking. Also, I need to do something for him to show that I care.
” The second one felt like the biggest thing.
He’d done so much for no reason and little reward.
He said he liked me, but I needed him to have a reason to like me.
“A grand gesture?”
I slowly nodded, and her eyes softened. “Is that not something he’d like?”
She leaned her forehead against her horse.
“He’ll love it. A wedding under the stars?
In the dark? You’ll have to talk to his secretary, Charles.
He’d be able to get you a guest list of all the people Horse would actually want there.
Nix, of course. Horse adores Nix. It’ll take some doing considering Nix’s wedding phobia.
Although maybe he’s gotten past that. What about your family? ”
I shivered. “After the wedding, I’ll take him to meet them.”
“Sounds like a scheme. Do you want me to arrange the meeting with Charles?”
I shook my head. “I want you to rest. And maybe you should call Daniela when you’re in over your head. I’d say me, but right now I’m not…”
She squeezed my arm with a painful pincer-grip, brown eyes sincere. “Thanks. Sometimes I need to do things on my own, but it’s nice to know you care.”
I rolled my eyes and left before I cried. I was feeling like that, crying, and screaming, and devouring Horse before he realized what a bad idea this would be. But I had things to do. I had a wedding to build from the ground up, like a truly custom beast.
Charles came into the garage while Jordan was pinning me. Jordan grinned at him with a mouthful of pins in the center of his dark beard. The dressmaker gave off biker, which must be why no one did leather like him. I’d never done white leather, but it’d definitely be a look.
Charles cleared his throat, glancing around at the mechanics who were ignoring the pinning like it was normal.
Maybe it wasn’t normal. I just figured I could kill two birds, one stone, because if I wasn’t being pinned, I was working on the rings.
It was difficult to put constellations in metal, particularly working with blue diamonds because they needed to be level with the rest of the band so they didn’t catch on anything, but still sparkle like his eyes.
He had the most amazing eyes. And hands. And having my ring on his hand would be very good for me.
At any rate, Charles came over, looking slightly wary. “You told Pixel to tell me to come over without telling Horse.”
I nodded and gestured at myself. “I’m arranging a real wedding instead of a drive-through thing. I think he’d like it better. Constellations in the dark, in the desert, with music, but I don’t know who to invite.”
He studied me for a long time before saying slowly, “You’re planning a surprise wedding?”
“It gives me something safe to do. Also, the rings.”
“So…the white leather is for your wedding dress?”
I looked down at Jordan’s bent head as he messed with the pieces of leather skirt. “Is that weird? You don’t think he’d like it?”
Charles blinked rapidly. “Of course he’ll like it.
No, I’m just organizing things in my head.
He’d like a small wedding, probably just you and the stars.
So he doesn’t have to perform for anyone.
It’ll be hard to get him into a suit, but if you tell him you’re going on a date, that should do it.
I can get him wherever you want him to be.
” His eyes were lighting up, really getting into the plan.
I smiled at him, relief welling up. He adjusted to change quickly. “So you think he’ll like getting married in the dark? It seems kind of stupid the longer I think about it.”
He gave me a cautious smile. “Different, but not stupid. No, this’ll be great. His favorite dessert doesn’t exist. He likes to sample everything. Just a bite out of all the cakes and cookies and things like a barbarian.”
I nodded. I’d forgotten about cake. “Does he have a favorite baker?”
“Can I take care of the cake? He’ll never know. We’ll put it under little globes so the dust doesn’t get in it. Did you have a place in the desert in mind?”
“Devil’s point. The top of it.”
He nodded. “Not a bad route if you’re not screaming down the canyon. Do you have a plan for the honeymoon?”
I stared at him. Honeymoon? My fingertips tingled at the thought of Horse. Mine. “I thought we’d just go back to his place.”
“Or…”
“He’d like something else better?”
Jordan snorted. “Or you could set out a big white tent with billowing panels out there in the desert. Bring in a big bed. A cooler full of fancy snacks. Not a packable tent, one of those inefficient tourist ones. I know a guy who does those. I could customize it with constellations like I’m doing for your dress. ”
I smiled down at my benevolently bearded fairy godmother. Godfather? “That sounds great. Charles? Do you think he’d like that?”
The quiet man who looked like he should be training someone in a gym only said, “Air conditioning.”
I nodded. “I did notice that his tent during the 300 has a portable cooling system. It’s nice and quiet.
Also, his bedroom is a few degrees colder than the rest of his house now that I think about it.
” I nodded and then really smiled at Charles.
“You’re a really great secretary. Great attention to detail. ”
He blinked at me. “Thanks. Anything else you need?”
I needed Horse. To make him mine, to make him happy so he didn’t want to leave, and…I couldn’t think of anything else. “I’m good. How long until the dress and tent are ready?” I asked Jordan.
“Three days.”
“Will that be enough time to get the cakes?” I asked Charles.
He nodded, already backing away. “Sure.”
“And you really don’t think he’d want all his college friends to come? Like Jackson? They seemed close. Unless you think this marriage isn’t like a long-term thing. I guess if it’s not permanent, he wouldn’t want his permanent friends to?—”
Charles spoke quickly. “He’d want to focus on you.”
I nodded, but I didn’t feel certain. Oh well.
Maybe these feelings would fade away, and I’d be glad when he decided playing daddy to my child was too hard.
But he didn’t mind doing hard things. And he said he liked messes.
He said he liked me. But I wasn’t an educated person.
I hadn’t even made it to my high school graduation.
And he was the valedictorian of his college?
What was he doing out here? Maybe he needed therapy.
Maybe this marriage would help him realize what he really wanted.
“If that’s all, Miss O’Hara, I’ll be going. Oh. Do you want me to take care of the certificates?”
“No, I’ll stop by the courthouse. And I’ll ask José to be the priest, if you don’t think he’d mind Catholic.”
“José’s solid,” Charles said, giving me one last slight smile before he turned and left as quickly as possible without running.
Jordan chuckled darkly as he adjusted the bottom panel. “That guy’s stealthy. You picked a good accomplice.”
“I just figured the secretary would have the addresses.” I frowned down at him. “Do you think this is a good idea?”
He looked up at me, surprised. “I’m just the tailor. What do I know? Just that you’re going to look amazing. Horse is going to think that he’s the luckiest person alive.”
I snorted. “It’s going to be dark.”
“Put candles in the tent. A lantern. It’ll be romantic.”
“It’s not really a romantic marriage, just convenient.”
“Who says a marriage can’t be both? It’s not like you to doubt yourself. You must care about him a lot.” He wiggled his bushy dark brows at me.
The feelings gripped me, wrapping around me like a vice of death. “A lot,” I agreed feebly. “Too much.”
“Nah. From what I’ve seen of him, which isn’t much because he doesn’t ask me to do his costume, I think he needs to be loved too much.”
“I didn’t say love,” I hurriedly corrected him. “But why do you think that? Everyone loves him.”
“Because he needs them to. But it’s not real. He wants you to be real. I mean, you are real, and he needs that. Also love. People don’t end up out here if they don’t have issues.”
“His mom died when he was young.”
“That could do it. All right. I think I’m done here. I’m going to go to the shop and work my magic. Make sure it’s a good bed.”
I nodded. “It’ll be real.”
He flashed me another smile before leaving me with rings to finish and details to iron out.
If he didn’t want guests, did that mean I shouldn’t have any either?
What did I want? Just Horse. So much. Maybe this devouring feeling really was love.
I’d only loved one other man, and it hadn’t turned out well.
Like rolling down an embankment and shattering my pelvis kind of not well.
He’d shattered my heart. The hospital stay after that was still an open wound.
My heart pounded faster and my stomach tangled.
I put a careful palm to my belly and breathed evenly, letting go of those feelings.
This was different. Horse wasn’t a psychopath.
He probably needed therapy, but he wasn’t one of those genetically messed monsters Jezabel fought against, because she was one of them.
Like Nix. Daniela. Not that I had anything against monsters; I just wasn’t going to marry one.
I was going to marry Horse. Nate. My knight.