Lyssa pulled in to Andor's driveway after work and the sight of his house still had the power to take her breath away. There was some differences from that time many weeks ago whens he first came here. A chill had taken the air, signaling that October and autumn had fully arrived. The days blurred together and it felt like she'd alway lived here, with Andor.

She got out of the car and walked up the front steps. Something troubled Andor, and she wished he would tell her what it was. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when it started, but he'd grown quiet and more restless than usual. He watched her now with an odd intensity in his eyes, and his lovemaking had taken on a desperate quality. It was as if he was trying to store up as many memories with her as he could.

She walked in the front door and hung her jacket on the hook. The spot where Andor’s leather jacked usually hung was empty.

“Andor?"

There was no response to her call. She walked through the lower floor of the house and there was no sign of him. Perhaps he'd gone to the clearing he had shown her. She suspected that he was spending more time there when she was away from the house. What did she need to say to him to ease the worry lurking in his eyes? Did he think she was going to leave now that it was abundantly clear that Kevin would no longer be troubling her?

She sighed as she walked into the kitchen, put her purse down on the table in the breakfast nook and went to the sink for a glass of water. As she drank she looked out the window, but only the breeze stirred outside. The problem was that they had yet to talk about the future and if they wanted a future together. At first, before Kevin had been taken into custody, it hadn't seemed necessary since Andor was simply offering her a safe place to stay. Now Kevin was no longer a concern, and there was nothing stopping her from returning to her home.

Nothing except her feelings for Andor, which had grown from attraction and gratitude into affection and love. Maybe she would have to open herself up to him, show some vulnerability and assure him that she wanted to have a future with him.

She tipped out the remaining water from her glass and set it in the sink. She wouldn't be able to tell him anything until he came home. She left the kitchen and went down the long corridor to the door leading to the basement, to what she affectionately called the dragon's lair. She found the stone dragons down there to be oddly soothing. Most people would find such giant stone creatures interesting at first, but nothing that needed to be visited day after day. She was fascinated by them, and would never tire of looking at them. She’d wait for Andor to return down there.

She reached out to turn the knob and pulled. The door didn't budge and she tugged harder. It was locked.

She let go of the handle and her brows knit together as she took a step back. This was the first time she'd encountered a locked door in this house. What had changed that had made it necessary for Andor to lock a door that had never been locked before?

An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, and she pressed her hand against it. What was going on? First Andor had started acting unlike his usual self, and now the door to the basement was locked. She didn't know what to make of it, but knew that she needed to talk to Andor. Something was wrong, and it needed to be out in the open.

She turned away from the door and went back down the hall. The house was eerily silent, and a shiver skated across her skin.

She went across the foyer and up the stairs. Her shoes were silent on the lush carpet of the landing, and when she got to the bedroom door she hesitated. She hugged her arms to herself as she stared at the door for a moment. Why did she have a feeling that something was about to happen, something that was going to change her life forever? And not for the better.

"Stop being so stupid."

Her voice echoed against the walls of the hall, and she started for a second. She gave a little laugh, and put her hand on the knob of the bedroom door.

When had she gotten to be so melodramatic? There had to be a reasonable explanation for all that was going on. It was Andor’s house, and he had every right to lock any door he wanted. Perhaps Andor had a reason for acting different, maybe he had something on his mind that had nothing to do with her. Why did she think she was at the center of it all. She was still looking for problems with this relationship. She'd thought she was over her doubts, but perhaps not.

She walked into the bedroom and a box sat on the dresser, catching her eye. It hadn't been there when she left for work that morning.

She walked over to it and there was a small envelope resting on the top, with her name written on it in Andor's bold handwriting. She picked it up, slid the card out of it and set the envelope aside.

Lyssa,

Please accept this gift, and wear it for me when you meet me in the dining room at 7.

Andor

She set the card aside and lifted the lid off the box. A gasp escaped her lips when she parted the tissue paper and picked up a small jewelry box. There was also a dress made of green satin nestled inside. She knew without pulling it out that it would fit her full figure perfectly and would be more flattering than anything she owned, with perhaps the exception of the last dress that Andor had bought for her.

She walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. She snapped open the jewelry box and looked inside. A pair of jade earrings, fashioned in the shape of dragons, rested inside as if sleeping. She stroked her index finger over them. Their beauty and elegance was match only by the ruby dragon Andor had given to her on the night of the gala.

Was it possible the reason that Andor was acting so strange lately was because he was preparing to ask her a significant questions tonight, and he was unsure of her answer?

Was he going to ask her to marry him? She wasn't sure if that was what he wanted to talk to her about, because although it felt like they'd been together for much longer than they had, in reality she'd only been in his house for almost two months. Was that really enough time to have such a momentous discussion?

She gave a small laugh. God, she was all over the place today. First she was freaking out because he locked the basement door, and now she was thinking he was going to propose.

She got up off the bed, and went back to the box that held the dress. She set the earrings aside and pulled the dress from the box. Maybe he didn't have something as big as a marriage proposal in mind for tonight. Perhaps it was a romantic evening he wanted to give her. None of her other boyfriends had been as thoughtful, but she was coming to realize that Andor was not like the other men she'd know. He thought of things that didn't occur to her and it was like he went out of his way to make even the most mundane event special for her.

Perhaps tonight Andor wanted to discuss the future, a future they hadn't taken the opportunity to discuss. It didn't mean a proposal of marriage. She loved him, and wanted a future with him. Marriage wasn't a requirement for her, but she had to admit that she would love being able to call a man like Andor her husband.

A glance at the clock told her that she didn't have a lot of time to get ready. She set the dress aside and went into the adjoining bathroom to get ready for her evening. Whatever it was he was planning, she had a feeling that it was going to change the nature of their relationship. Seven o'clock couldn't get here fast enough.

* * *

Andor paced the confines of the clearing as he tried to focus his mind on the task that loomed before him this night. He would tell Lyssa the truth. He wanted to ask her to be his mate, to spend the rest of her life with him, but he couldn't do that until she was aware of what she was getting herself into.

He shrugged his shoulders back and blew out his breath. He could do this. She would understand and accept him for what he was. She loved dragons, and she would not fear him as another woman would. He just needed to tell her.

She had been looking at him with concern for the past few days, and he knew that he was not handling his decision to tell her the truth with his normal unflappable calm. Acting anxious over it would only foster anxiety in her, so he needed to relax and find his center. This was a discussion that could no longer be avoided, and if he wanted Lyssa to be his mate, he needed to tell her. He could not put it off any longer.

With his determination fixed firmly in place he made his way back to the house. The chilly autumn air skating across his face, and the trees shedding their colored leaves told him that he no longer had the luxury of time. He was telling Lyssa the truth tonight, and that was the end of it. Fretting like an anxious child was not helping and he needed to be strong and confident.

He could not think about how much was riding on Lyssa's reaction to the truth. Going feral was not the root of his worry, since he knew that Rickman would do everything in his power to ensure that Andor hurt no one if it happened.

The true cause of the worry and anxiety churning inside him was the prospect of Lyssa rejecting him. He may have started out looking for a mate to keep his curse at bay, but his reasons for wanting her had changed. He loved her and he wanted to spend his life with her. It had nothing to do with curses, and everything to do with her. He could not imagine a life where he did not spend his days being with her, and his nights holding her naked flesh close to him.

He came out of the woods surrounding the house and walked across the lawn. Lyssa's car sat in the driveway, and he paused for a second to look up at the house. The late afternoon sun painted the stone of the house a warm orange. Had she found the gift he had left for her? He wanted to make the night he revealed the truth to her special, and he also wanted to show her what she could expect from a life lived as his mate. He knew that she was not interested in him for what he could give her, but it did not hurt to gift her with nice things to show her how much she meant to him.

He walked into the house, and Rickman was there waiting for him.

"Are you sure about this?" Rickman appeared to be even more anxious about tonight than he was.

"It has to be tonight. The Hunter's Moon will not wait for me to find a perfect time to tell her. Do you have everything prepared?"

"Yes. I got the food from the restaurant, and it's heating now. The dining room is laid, and everything is ready. Are you going to want me to serve?"

"No. I can do that. You can make yourself scarce for the evening." Andor turned away from Rickman and made his way up the stairs. The door to his bedroom was closed, and he assumed that Lyssa was in there getting ready. He hurried down the hall to a spare room where he had left the clothes he would wear tonight. He hurried through his shower, and quickly dressed. He wanted to make sure he had enough time to have the food waiting for Lyssa when she arrived in the dining room at seven.

With Rickman’s help he managed to get the food they would be eating in the dining room with five minutes to spare. Rickman took his leave, telling him that he would be in his room if Andor needed him. He barely heard him, as he sat waiting for Lyssa to arrive.

It was the longest five minutes of his life, and in that short span of time he had almost gone in search of Rickman to get him to tell Lyssa that the evening had been cancelled. Never before in his life had be felt this much uncertainty, but nothing in his life had been as important as this night. He sat up straighter when the sounds of Lyssa’s footsteps outside the dining room came to him. He stood up and waited for her to walk in the room.

His blood thrummed in his veins when he saw her framed in the doorway. He’d never seen her looking as beautiful as she did tonight, and all the anxiety and doubt he’d been feeling melted away. This was Lyssa, the woman he loved and wanted to cherish above all else. She was an understanding person, and once he told her the truth about himself, things would be fine.

“Andor, everything looks wonderful. Is this a special occasion?” She took a step into the dining room and looked around, as the candlelight bathed her creamy skin in a warm glow. He strode forward and took her by the arm.

“I hope it will be. I have something that I want to talk to you about.” He led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her. Once he was sure she was comfortably seated, he walked around to his chair opposite her. He poured them both a glass of wine, and he resisted the urge to down his. Perhaps there were still few nerves lurking inside him.

“What do you want to discuss?” She looked at him over the rim of her wine glass as she took a sip. Should he tell her now? Perhaps it would be better to tell her after the meal, when she’d had good food and a few glasses of wine to relax her. It might make her more receptive to the momentous truth he needed to reveal.

“It can wait until after we eat. There will be plenty of time for us to talk once dinner is finished.” Andor lifted the sliver domes off the various dishes that had been prepared. He didn’t know if he was going to be able to eat, but wanted to make a good show of it. He had to be as relaxed as possible, since Lyssa was sensitive enough to sense something was wrong. He didn’t want her to feed off his anxiety when he told her the truth. That would almost guarantee a bad outcome.

“Can you give me a little hint?” Lyssa smiled shyly at him as she put food on her plate. Andor stared at that smile for a long moment, and resisted the urge to get up and walk around the table to pull her in his arms. There would be plenty of time to hold her after he told her the truth, and if he obeyed the urges she was stirring inside him the discussion they needed to have would not happen tonight.

“All I will tell you is that I want to talk about the future.” He put food on his plate in order to distract himself from what he wanted to do with her.

“Does that future include me?” There was a tiny flicker in her eyes, one he suspected was hope.

“All will be revealed after we eat. Please, enjoy your food and do not worry about what we are going to talk about.” He took a bite of his food in order to encourage her to do the same.

He did not have much of an appetite but went through the motions of eating for her sake. She followed suit and she closed her eyes for a moment as she slowly chewed her first bite. The enjoyment on her face was obvious, and Andor ran his finger inside the collar of his shirt. He would never get through the meal without taking her upstairs if he did not suppress what she made him feel.

“The food is delicious. Did you make this?” She smiled over at him as she took a sip from her wine glass. He could lie and say that he had, but then she might want him to cook for her again, and she would learn just what a disaster he was in the kitchen.

“It would not be edible if I had cooked it. It was made by a favorite restaurant of mine. It was the one I wanted to take you to the night—” He broke off. The last thing he wanted to do tonight was remind her of Kevin, but she appeared to pick up on what he’d left unsaid.

“The night that Kevin vandalized my house. Don’t worry about talking about it. It happened and the only thing I feel about that incident now is gratitude to you for being there for me when I needed you. I hope that I can return the favor to you someday, and be there for you when you need me.”

Her words moved him and gave him hope that they would have a future together. They continued their meal and they made small talk about unimportant things. When it was time for coffee and desert Andor decided that he could no longer put off the inevitable. Lyssa had finished last of her wine, and she set her glass aside. He reached across the table and took her hand.

“I was going to wait until we’d had coffee and desert to talk to you, but I do not want to put this off any longer. Why don’t we go into the lounge and talk?” He didn’t want to have this discussion with her with a table in between them. He wanted her sitting close to his side, where he could touch her and reassure her that he was the same man he had always been.

“Okay.” She pushed her chair back and stood. He got out of his quickly and went around the table to lead her to the lounge, which was directly across from the dining room.

They sat together on one of the sofa’s and he was close enough to her that his thigh rested against hers as he took her hand and kissed it.

“I have something that I need to tell you. Something about myself that I have hidden from you. I want to have a future with you, I want you to stay here with me but in order to do that there is something you need to know about me.”

That was as far as he got, because how could he tell her that he was a dragon in a way that would not be like launching a firestorm into the center of the room. No matter how he expressed it, it would be a shock to her system. He only hoped that she would recover quickly and accept him for who and what he was.

“Andor, what is it? I’m sure that whatever it is that you have to tell me, I’ll understand. I want to have a future with you too, and there is nothing that will make me change my mind about that.” She stroked his hand and gave him an encouraging smile.

The fact that she wanted a future with him was encouraging, but it would remain to be seen it that was the case when she learned that he was not an ordinary man. There was no backing out now. The only way to break the news to her was to come out and say it.

“Lyssa, I’m a dragon.”