Chapter Thirteen
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Connor probably should have spent the entire night with EmmaLee. After all, they’d just had the most amazing, life-altering sex of his life, but the longer he stayed, the harder it became not to mate with her. If they did, he worried it would affect his concentration at work. Becoming distracted in his job wasn’t an option. It could put EmmaLee at risk, and it certainly wouldn’t help him find Slater Coghill.
Before heading in the next morning, Connor decided to stop by the guesthouse to make sure EmmaLee was okay. If she had any regrets about last night, he wanted to address them. Connor had to knock twice before she opened the door. Most likely it was because he’d told her to look through the peephole before opening up.
As soon as he saw her, his wolf begged for release. EmmaLee was wearing a robe with a coffee cup in her hand, and the image of seeing her like this for more mornings to come raced through his mind.
Connor smiled. “Good morning!”
EmmaLee’s face lit up. “Hey, I thought you would be on your way to work already.”
“I’m heading there now, but I wanted to see how you were doing first? Did you sleep okay?”
“Some.” She motioned him in and lifted her drink. “Can I get you a cup? It’s already made.”
“Sure.”
He followed her into the tiny kitchen. “I stopped by to see if you had any regrets with what we did.”
She spun to face him, her eyes wide. “Regrets? No. Did you?”
Way to go, you idiot. You have to stop messing up, his wolf chided.
She does that to me.
“No! It was the most amazing moment of my life.”
Then hug her. And kiss her, his wolf urged. You need to make it up to her.
Then I wouldn’t make it into work until noon.
So? his wolf shot back.
A pink blush rushed up her cheeks. EmmaLee moved closer and his wolf cheered. “For me too. You did things to me that I’d never experienced before.”
Connor almost lost control once more. Here he thought that if they had sex once, his intense yearning would lessen. Wrong! It was worse, if that was possible.
Instead of returning to the table, they remained in the kitchen drinking their strong morning brew. The longer he watched her, the more he needed to be with her. Being away from her for another day wasn’t an option. “I thought you might want to come into work with me today. I know the Internet here isn’t the best,” he said.
As if he’d pumped her full of energy, her eyes brightened. “I’d love that, but I don’t want to be a bother.”
“No bother. I think Ronan and Jackson would be upset if you didn’t come.”
“You think?” He nodded. “Okay. I’ll need a sec to change.” She set down her cup and immediately winced.
“What’s wrong?”
She rubbed her back. “That stupid back injury. I thought it was getting better, but I must have slept on it wrong or something.”
EmmaLee blushed again, and he knew what she was thinking. He couldn’t resist teasing her a bit. “Well, you were pretty bendy, leaning over that sofa arm.” He took a sip of coffee while looking at her over the rim, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She chuckled even though her blush deepened. “Seriously though, do you want me to call Blair for you? I am sure she can fit you in.”
“That’s okay. If it doesn’t improve in a few days, I’ll contact her. Let me change so we can get going.”
She eased down the hallway before he had the opportunity to get in a kiss. Damn. With the way her bathrobe was trailing behind her, he could picture what was underneath.
A few minutes later, she returned wearing jeans and a long sleeve bright pink shirt, looking way too cute.
A large purse was slung over her shoulder that probably contained her laptop. “I’m ready,” she said.
Once she locked up, he called his dad to tell him that once more EmmaLee would be with him.
“How’s that working out?”
Now wasn’t the time or place to discuss it. “Great. We’ll touch base later.”
“You can’t talk. I get it. Call if you need anything.”
Connor disconnected. “What are you going to research today?” he asked EmmaLee as he held open the car door.
“I’m not sure, but I’ll find something of interest.” She twisted toward him. “Actually, there is something I’d like to do. I’d love to speak to Zane.”
“Zane? Why?”
“He’s from Cargonia. Maybe there are dragons in his realm.”
Connor had never thought to ask him about any of that. Zane was still new to Silver Lake, and he hadn’t spent a lot of time with him yet. “I’ll see when he’s free.”
She placed a hand on his arm. “Thank you.”
That one touch jacked up his hormones once more. Connor would have to ask his brother how he handled being mated while doing his job. As much as he wanted to keep his relationship with EmmaLee a secret for now, sooner or later, Rye, as well as the rest of his team, would be able to tell.
He parked in front of their office and escorted her inside. As usual, Lexi was at her desk. When she looked up and saw them, she smiled. “I see you have a new chauffeur!”
“Connor stopped by and offered me a ride. I couldn’t say no.”
“Let me know if you need help with anything,” Lexi said.
Connor was happy EmmaLee was making friends. If he had any hope of her wanting to stay in Silver Lake, the key might be in having friends. If he were lucky, she’d want to stay because of him. “Are you okay to work in the break room again?” he asked her.
“Absolutely.”
Once she was settled, he hurried to his office. As much as he wanted to kiss her, once he started, he might not be able to stop. Thankfully, Ronan was staying in the room downstairs preventing Connor from taking her there. And although it elicited a hot image and an even hotter response, EmmaLee certainly deserved more than sex on his office desk. Maybe one day, after they were mated, he could convince her to have an afternoon delight in his office, but not now. His cock twitched at that thought.
Geezus, he needed to get his mind back on business. He adjusted himself then quickly settled down to do some work. Today, he needed to help Ronan with his case, gather more information on Coghill, and handle the day-to-day operations of running the firm.
Before he had the chance to do any of those things, someone knocked on his door. It wasn’t EmmaLee; that much he could sense.
“Come in.”
It was Ronan. He pulled up a chair and sat. “I think I should fly up to New York and nab Slater.”
Connor appreciated his proactive behavior. “As much as I want that ass in jail, we need to be sure he’s there first. Ask Jackson to reach out to our informant again. He is the one who’s seen him. Our man in New York might even know where he’s staying.”
Ronan stood. “Thanks. I’ll get right on it.”
“While you’re with Jackson, ask him if he has any information on your Delahart man. Last I heard, Jackson was monitoring his spending habits.”
“Sounds great.”
As soon as Ronan left, Connor did a search for the arson report on EmmaLee’s parents. After a few phone calls, the detective handling cold cases said he’d email it. “If you come up with anything,” the detective said. “I’d appreciate a heads up.”
“I will.” Unless it really was a dragon, then no.
Fourteen years was a long time, but Connor wanted to see if the cops in her hometown had missed anything. His email notification dinged, indicating he had mail. It was the arson report. He downloaded it and read it a few times. Because it used some technical terms he wasn’t familiar with, he needed some help deciphering it. Drake Manson, who happened to be a shifter, was the arson investigator in Silver Lake. He’d be able to help. At least Connor could be honest with him.
He pushed back his chair, looking forward to a brisk walk to the fire station. Since Zane worked there as their janitor, perhaps EmmaLee would like to go with him.
When he returned to the break room, his body went crazy.
Really? I am just going to ask her to go for a walk not jump her in the break room, he told his horny wolf.
I can’t help it. Now that I’ve had a taste, I want more, his wolf whined.
Enough! He mentally pushed him back. Crap, it was hard enough controlling himself around EmmaLee, never mind now that his wolf wanted to hump her at every opportunity.
“EmmaLee?” Connor called, partly to shut out his wolf. She was sitting in her chair, head down into her research.
She spun around and smiled. “Hey.”
“I received the arson report from your parents’ fire, but I don’t understand all of it, so I thought I’d ask the arson investigator to help. Would you like to come with me? You might be able to speak with Zane, your Cargonian man.” She jumped up so fast the chair tumbled backward. He laughed and then righted it. “I take it that’s a yes.”
“Definitely a yes.”
“Be aware that he might not be willing to speak with you. From what Rye has told me, Zane keeps a low profile.”
“That’s okay, but I need to ask.”
He adored her positive attitude. “Let’s go then.”
*
EmmaLee was nervous. Connor was off speaking with the arson investigator while she stood next to the fire truck waiting for some huge man to speak with her—a man, or rather a werebear who wasn’t even from this realm! If only her mom were alive, she would have loved to learn about him too.
“Excuse me,” said the deepest voice she’d ever heard.
Refocusing on the giant before her, she was unable to form words. He wore a tight black T-shirt that outlined his huge arms, with the fire department’s logo blazoned across the front. Thankfully, he had a kind face. “Hi, you must be Zane.”
“Yes, and you must be EmmaLee.”
“I am.”
He looked around. “Care to come into the back where we can talk? Not many people beside Rye know my history.”
“I can understand why.”
Ohmigod. He was really going to speak with her regarding another realm. How cool was that? She had her phone with her, but tape recording him might be a bit too much. If she’d been from another realm, she wouldn’t want the world to know either. The questions would be endless.
When he opened a storage closet full of cleaning supplies, she hesitated. If Rye and Connor hadn’t vouched for him, she might have turned around.
“Sorry we have to meet like this, but I put my life on the line every time someone learns about me.”
“Not a problem. I totally get it.”
“Connor told me you are researching shifters and such. What do you want to know?”
“You’re from Cargonia, right?” He nodded. “Are there dragon shifters there?”
He studied her, but she couldn’t tell if he was debating whether to answer her honestly, or if he thought she was plum crazy. “Dragon shifters, you say?”
Why was that a hard question? “Yes.”
“I’ve never run into one.”
Her muscles tightened up. “Are you sure?”
Zane smiled. “There are no humans on Cargonia either, so there is no reason to hide our identity. Wolves, bears, tigers, and such run around in their animal form all the time, but I’ve never seen a dragon.”
“But could one exist?”
He crossed his arms. “I suppose so, why?”
“Did Connor tell you what I saw when I was younger?”
“No.”
She gave him a brief rundown on what happened.
“If that had occurred on Cargonia, I would have said a demon was responsible. They can shoot fire out of their hands—or at least some are able to.”
Maybe demons were descendants from dragons. “Thank you for speaking with me.”
His eyes widened. “You don’t want to know about the portal or what life is like there?”
“All of that sounds exciting, but I don’t want to get sidetracked. If you’re open to it, I might ask you other questions later.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Zane escorted her back to the main area where Connor was speaking with another man who looked a lot like him. He glanced over at her and smiled. “Come here and meet my brother.”
She shook Zane’s hand and then stepped over to the McKinnon brothers.
“This is Rye, my oldest brother.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
“Did Zane help you with your questions?” Rye asked.
“He did.”
Connor wrapped an arm around her waist and faced his brother. “Thank Drake again for taking the time to look over the report.”
“Will do.” Rye turned and headed back to work.
As soon as they were outside, she looked up at him. “Did you learn anything?”
“You first. What did Zane say?”
“He said he’d never met a dragon shifter, but he added that it was possible one existed.”
“I’m sorry, Em.”
She liked how he shortened her name. “It’s not your fault. What did you find out?”
They crossed the street and then headed north. “The report was incomplete or else the fire marshal in your hometown wasn’t thorough.”
“What do you mean?”
“While there was accelerant found, most was poured along the perimeter.”
“So?”
“The fire didn’t start at the bottom of the house.”
She tried to picture it but failed. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Drake says from the burn pattern, the intense heat came from flames about six feet off the ground.”
Her mind spun. “So a dragon could have been responsible!”
He placed a hand on her back and led her across Maple Avenue. “He wasn’t able to say, other than it appeared as if a flame thrower had been used.”
“Has he ever known an arsonist to use a flame thrower?”
Connor smiled. “No, never.”
“Then it’s possible I wasn’t imagining things.”
“I think your next step is to have someone identify that talon.”
They crossed one more street to reach the McKinnon and Associates’ parking lot. “The dinosaur researcher is scheduled to begin his month long class next week, but he’s giving an introductory seminar this Saturday in Billard. What do you say to a road trip?” Her heart pounded awaiting his answer.