Page 37 of Dragon His Heels
Relationship?
She’d admittedly been nervous last night by the way he’d reacted to the condoms she’d bought, but he hadn’t let his allergy issue interfere in their night of passion. And now he’d let her see his treasures, had left her alone with them.
Was she more than a fling to Gabe? And was she okay with this?
It would undoubtedly make it easier to raise Ruby if they were together. But was she ready to delve into those murky, deep waters with her reeve? Because dating—or whatever it was they were doing—would certainly complicate their working relationship.
Hell, did the man even know how to date? They’d already done it back ass-ward. They’d moved in together, started sleeping together—sort of—and now he’d left her to ruminate, surrounded by his dragon’s cache.
Maybe she should stop reading so much into this small—no, huge—gesture. Maybe she should just take it as it went. Let their association play out.
Maybe…
With a sigh, Talia flung herself onto the nearest pile of gems and gold. She rolled around in it, wrapping herself in pearls and strands of gold and silver, piling thick bracelets on her arms, and loading up her fingers with as many rings as would fit.
But it wasn’t long before she pushed herself up on her hands and looked around. Gabe had been gone for a lot more than a few minutes. Furrowing her brow, Talia divested herself of each and every gem and bit of gold, leaving it all where she’d gotten it from, and then, feeling somewhat naked, she headed toward the door.
He’d been gone alongtime.
The door opened easily enough—thank the gods he hadn’t locked her inside—and made a number of clicking noises when she pulled it closed behind her. His cache was once again safe and secure.
When she pushed open the door at the top of the stairs, she saw Gabe, his back to her, talking to a woman who looked to be in her fifties, maybe a little older. It was hard to tell with dragons. Once they hit the mid-century mark, the aging process slowed markedly.
The woman had dark hair styled into an elegant chignon. She wore a linen pantsuit and lipstick that was the perfect shade of mauve and matched her manicured nails.
“He’s my father,” the woman said. “Of course he told me about your conversation.”
Gabe scrubbed his hand over his face. “I didn’t tell him I was willing to investigate the curse, Morna. That wasn’t what our conversation was about.”
The fated mates curse? Morna. Who was Morna’s father?
Adelbern. One of the Elders. Gabe talked to Adelbern about the fated mate curse? Why would he do that?
“It doesn’t matter what the conversation was about, Gabe,” Mona said. “The fact is, this curse has gone on far too long. And if you have any ability to try to break it, as our reeve—hell, as a dragon—you need to try.”
“I don’t have that ability. I don’t know what Adelbern told you, but—”
“He said you believe you found your fated mate.”
Talia abruptly took a step back, so that the door was barely cracked open.
“I thought our conversation was private.” There was a growl in Gabe’s voice, one Talia recognized. He was furious. And frustrated.
Morna flapped her hand. “I assure you, he hasn’t told anyone else. And, normally, I hardly pay attention when he tells me about your talks. But this—this is important, Gabe. You need to do something. This curse isn’t fair to the young ones, who have never had the opportunity to experience the sheer bliss that comes from finding your one true mate. And it’s really unjust to those of us who had it once and lost it. I want that feeling back.”
She stabbed at her own chest. “My mate and I nearly broke up when that curse overcame us. Before that, we were almost nauseating with how lovey-dovey we were. All the time. We never fought; we never disagreed. We were euphoric. It’s taken thirty years to get back half of what we had before, and unless this curse is lifted, I know we’ll never get to that point again. And we aren’t the only ones. If there is a remote possibility you can make it happen, you need to try.”
Gabe slashed his hand through the air. A shimmer of magic accompanied the action, like he was fighting the desire to shift into dragon form. Which meant he was well and truly angry.
“There is no possibility, Morna,” he snapped. “I don’t know anything about the curse. I have nothing to do with it. And frankly, I couldn’t care less if it’s ever lifted.”
Morna gasped, and if she were wearing pearls, she’d surely be clutching them at this moment. After a few moments of heavy silence, she thrust her nose in the air, muttered, “Thanks for nothing,” and stormed from the house, slamming the door closed behind her.
Talia scurried backward, stumbling and damn near tripping down the stairs, trying to get back to where she was supposed to be before Gabe realized she’d overheard his conversation, but she didn’t move fast enough. He tugged the door open and froze when he spotted her, standing halfway down the stairs.
“Um, hey. I was coming to see what was taking you so long,” she said, trying to reverse her momentum so it looked like she was heading up instead of down.
His body was vibrating. Literally, shaking. He narrowed his eyes and said, “What did you hear?”
