Page 23 of Dragon in Denial
Chapter 6
What did Darius have to do with Ketu’s reeve’s mother? What did Pongo know? If only Ketu hadn’t been around, Antoinette would have peppered the gargoyle with questions about his damned elusive comment.
And what the hell did he mean by “May you find everything you are looking for”?
If only these thoughts, these unanswered questions, were all that plagued Antoinette while she and Ketu sat side by side in the back seat of an Uber as it headed toward his parents’ house.
But no, there were plenty of other concerns to bog down her oversaturated mind.
How about the fact that she and Ketu were fated mates?
He hadn’t said a word about it. Surely, he was aware. Fated mates were a universal dragon thing. Even in Detroit they had fated mates. Okay, sure, Ketu said his colony had been cursed for thirty years, so maybe they weren’t as familiar with the concept, but he’d grown up here in New Orleans. He understood that flying was what triggered the magic that bound two dragons together.
For life.
Of course, they still had to make it official. They still had to have sex.
Oh yeah.
Shut up, she practically snarled at her dragon.There will be no sexy times with Ketu Ormarr. No way, no how.
Her dragon pouted, its fat, scaly lip hanging so low it was practically dragging on the ground in Antoinette’s head. She gave the beast a giant eye roll.
Seriously—Ketu? Of all the dragons in her colony—and hell, he wasn’t even part of her colony anymore—it had to be him? He was her best friend’s brother and he’d run away when things got tough.
He thought she was a dragon’s blood dealer, for the love of the gods.
Her.
It seriously burned that he believed that about her. She was the one who’d begged Eulalie not to go back for more. Pleaded with her to see Darius for what he truly was: a slimy, evil, self-serving bastard who used her for his own means. Antoinette had no proof, of course, but considering how new dragon’s blood had been back then, she suspected Darius got Eulalie hooked just to see what would happen to an addict.
And Ketu was convinced Antoinette was now selling the stuff that killed her best friend.
She ought to tell him the truth, make him squirm. Make him feel bad for not having confidence in her.
But she didn’t. For one thing, she wasn’t sure she could trust him. He’d been gone for so long she didn’t even really know him anymore. She sure as hell couldn’t tell him what she was really doing. Based on Pongo’s cryptic remark, the woman Ketu was sent here to observe was somehow connected to Darius. Which meant she probably had something to do with the dragon’s blood trade. And until Antoinette knew exactly how Ketu was involved in all of it, she wasn’t about to share any damn thing with him.
The Uber driver pulled up in front of the Ormarr home and Antoinette hopped out, hurrying up the driveway toward the kitchen door. Before she’d made it halfway, Henri came flying out, still in his pajamas, rushing down the pavement and crashing into her with the force of, well, a child whose parent was unexpectedly gone all night.
“Hey, buddy. Good morning,” she said as her anger and annoyance dissipated with her son’s hug.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going away last night?” he demanded as she lifted him into her arms.
“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t know ahead of time. It was very unexpected.”
“You were with Ketu.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the tall, muscular dragon standing behind her. He ruffled Henri’s already haphazard curls and said, “Yep. That’s how you knew she was safe, remember?”
“Hey, I can take care of myself,” Antoinette protested.
“Yeah, but Ketu is huge. Way bigger than you,Manman.”
“It isn’t always about size,” she said, and then felt her cheeks heat. “Did you go to bed without fuss forGranmé?”
Henri nodded vigorously.
“Good boy. Thank you.” She placed him on the ground and shooed him back into the house.
