It had been a week since the confrontation with Kevin, and Lyssa hadn’t seen him since. She hoped that Andor’s warning to him to leave her alone had done what the restraining order hadn’t. Time would tell if Kevin heeded the clear message that Andor had given him, but things looked good so far.

She had heard nothing from Andor since they’d parted ways at the fair’s parking lot, and she didn’t expect to see him again. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting anything to do with her after the showdown with Kevin. What man in his right mind wanted to get tangled up in the drama that was her life right now?

She sighed and turned her attention back to her work. The gallery was preparing for a big show this weekend, and there was a lot she needed to do to get ready for it. But as busy as she was, she found her mind drifting back to him.

It had felt so right when he'd put his hand on her back after he’d defended her from Kevin. It was all for Kevin’s benefit, but she’d felt safe and protected with his big body beside hers.

A quick glance at the clock told her it was almost time to go home. Since her break up with Kevin she relished home time since her house was the one place she felt safe. Now though, her house seemed empty, and she wished she had someone to go home to.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You finally got rid of one man, now is not the time to tangle with another.

“Are you finished for the day?”

Lyssa looked up to see her boss Joyce walk into the back room where she was cataloguing the pieces of art that would be part of the exhibit.

“I’m almost done. I can stay late if there is anything you need me to do before I go home.” She was willing to do anything to stave off the moment she had to go to her empty house.

“That’s unnecessary. I have a feeling that your evening just got busier. There is someone out front asking for you. You can leave for the day and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lyssa paused for a moment. Someone was here to see her? The only people who knew she where she worked was Portia and Kevin, and Portia was out of town and would have told her if she was coming back early. The last time Kevin had come to her work it had gotten so ugly that the police had to be called.

“Who is it?” It couldn’t be Kevin, since Joyce would not look calm and curious if he was here.

“I don’t know dear, but you must tell me where you’ve been hiding him.” Joyce gave a little laugh and took the clipboard Lyssa was holding. “Don’t keep him waiting.”

Joyce shooed her out the door, and Lyssa slowly opened the door that led from the back to the gallery’s show room. A small flower of hope blossomed inside her, but she crushed it to avoid disappointment.

She stepped into the gallery and saw him standing with his back to her as he studied the artwork on the wall. There was no mistaking the midnight colored hair and the broad shoulders.

“Andor? This is a surprise. What are you doing here?” She stepped fully out of the back room, and he quickly turned toward her. Pleasure suffused her body when as she looked at him. He looked so good in the dark T-shirt, black leather jacket and faded jeans that lovingly clung to his muscular thighs. His eyes traveled up and down her body, and she resisted the urge to wipe her damp palms along the side of her jeans.

“I hope I have not intruded on your work day. I tried to time it to when I thought you would be finished.” His deep voice flowed over her, and she fought the nervous laugh that wanted to come braying out of her.

“I was just finishing up. What can I do for you? Are you interested in buying artwork? I can show you some new pieces that we’ve just gotten in.” She hoped that he wasn’t here to see the art, that he was here to see her. Perhaps the confrontation with Kevin hadn’t turned him off after all? For all her lecturing herself that she didn’t need to start another relationship, she wanted to spend more time with him.

“I am not interested in the art. I came to see you, to see if you would like to have dinner with me.”

Kevin hadn’t scared him away. He wanted to have dinner with her. A smile bloomed across her face, and she didn’t even consider being coy or cool with him. It was all she could do to stop herself from giving her leg a big pinch to see if this was really happening.

“I would love to have dinner with you.” She looked down at her clothes and frowned. She’d worn her most casual clothes today, since she knew that she would be working with the art in the back, and had wanted to wear something comfortable. “Would if be okay if I went home and changed first?”

“If that would make you more comfortable. I think what you are wearing is fine.” His eyes swept appreciatively over her and she could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks. Sometimes she cursed her pale complexion because it showed every emotion she experienced as she experienced them.

“I’d like to go home first. That way I can drop my car off, and we can take your car to the restaurant. Just let me go get my purse.”

She quickly turned around and went to the back room where her jacket and purse were tucked out of the way. Joyce was still there cataloguing the artwork, and she looked up with a smile. “Have a nice evening.”

It was shaping up to be a better evening than what she’d already planned. She gave Joyce a smile and shrugged on her jacket and slung her purse over her shoulder. She came back into the gallery and stepped close to him.

“Ready?” He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her out the door of the gallery. A black luxury sedan was parked out front, and the same blue haired man who was at the fair with Andor leaned against it, looking bored. Andor cleared his throat and shot the young man a scowl. He smirked at Andor and took his time standing up straight. “You remember Rickman. He is my… driver.”

“I’m more than that. His life would fall apart without me.” Rickman extended his hand and Lyssa shook it.

“I’m Lyssa.” She let her hand fall away and looked over at Andor. “I’ll go get my car and you can follow me to my house.”

Andor nodded and Lyssa hurried away to where her car was parked behind the building. She could hardly believe it. A man this good looking and wealthy enough to afford a driver, was interested in seeing her. When she got to her vehicle she did a little happy dance.

She unlocked her car and got in. She braced her hands on the steering wheel for a moment and blew out a slow breath. She had to calm down. Dinner was all it was. She had dinner every night of her life. She’d never had dinner with a man like him, but she couldn’t think of it that way or her nerves would overwhelm her.

She started the car and pulled out of her parking spot. There was a narrow lane between the gallery and the building next door, and she had to pay attention to navigating through it. Once she pulled out onto the street, she turned right and got on the road toward home. The dark sedan pulled out to follow her, and she resisted the temptation to keep her eyes glued to the rearview mirror. He was behind her and he wouldn't disappear like a phantom if she kept her eyes on the road.

The drive to her small house in the east end was short, and she pulled into her driveway and shut off the car. There was only enough room for one vehicle, so Rickman had to park on the street in front of the house. She got out of her car and walked over to the sedan. The window on the rear passenger side rolled down, and she bent low so she could look directly at Andor.

“I’ll change quickly and be right back out.” She had her hand braced on the door, and Andor reached up and lightly skimmed his fingers over the back of her hand. The butterflies she’d successfully conquered earlier returned with a vengeance, and she swallowed. God, if the touch of his fingers on her hand did this to her what would happen if he caressed the rest of her body. She discreetly squeezed her thighs together to quell the tingling that thought gave her.

“Take your time. I am a patient man.” He smiled at her, revealing his even white teeth and she stood there for several more moments.

She slipped her hand out from under his and straightened. With a quick turn, her back was to him and she walked up the path her front porch.

She dug through her purse for her keys as she mentally tried on and discarded the bulk of her wardrobe. What did she have that would appropriate for dinner with a man like him? She wished she’d asked him where they were going, so she’d know what she was supposed to wear.

She pulled out her house key and inserted it into the deadbolt and turned it to unlock it. It didn’t move. The door was already unlocked.

She slowly pulled the key out as her hand trembled. Had she forgotten to lock the door this morning? She had been in a hurry, but she was diligent about locking the door, especially since her break up with Kevin. She racked her brain to try to remember, but all that was there was a blank. The act of locking the door was so mundane and routine that her brain couldn’t remember if she’d specifically done it that morning.

The door knob was cold in her hand as she gave it a twist. The door moved easily, and she pushed it open. It gave its usual creak on its old hinges, which had never sounded menacing to her before today. The house was silent, and she swallowed hard as she took one step over the threshold. No one jumped out, and she could now hear the usual ticks and clicks of her old house as it settled around her. Rubbing hand hands up and down her arms did little to get rid of the goosebumps that had risen up on her skin.

Stop being silly. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with it and slowly pushing it out. The trembling in her body subsided. She’d forgotten to lock the door this morning, and now she was jumping at shadows because of it. A nervous laugh escaped her, and it echoed against the walls of the foyer.

She left the door open behind her and hung her coat on the hook mounted on the wall inside the door. The vestibule led to a hallway with the open archway leading to the living room on her right, and the staircase leading the second floor ahead of her.

She came abreast of the doorway to the living room and something didn't seem right. It was a room she walked past everyday without giving it a glance, but something about it caught her eye and the trembling returned. The muscles in her neck and shoulders were stiff and tight when she forced herself to face the room.

Please be only a figment on my imagination. She turned, so she was fully facing the room, and ice flooded her body. She had not forgotten to lock the door this morning, and what had happened here was more than just a figment of her imagination. As if in slow motion her hand came up to grasp her throat. Air filled her lungs once more, but instead of easing out, her breath was shoved out in a piercing scream.

* * *

“Don’t worry I’m a patient man.” Rickman flashed him a grin as he imitated him perfectly.

“Why do I keep you in my employ?” It was a question that Andor had asked himself from the moment he had woke up and discovered that this blue haired, irreverent man was his minion.

“Because I’m all you have. Dragon’s minion isn’t something you can advertise for on Craigslist.” Rickman’s mouth pursed in speculation. “Maybe you can, but who knows what sort of deranged pervert you’d get. Besides, I have proven myself useful. If it wasn’t for me you would not have met her."

“That is true. You can work for me for a little longer.” Rickman had proven to be resourceful. Once he decided that he was willing to risk seeing Lyssa again, he had tasked Rickman with finding out more about her, and his minion had found her place of employment.

He turned his head and watched Lyssa walked up the path toward her front door. His eyes lingered on her full bottom, and a smiled pulled at the corner of his mouth. The jeans she wore hugged her hips, and he could see just how full they were. They were a perfect match for her full breasts which he had gotten a glimpse of when she had leaned forward to tell him that she would change quickly. It had taken tremendous will power to keep his eyes from dipping into the opening of her blouse, but she was a lady, and a dragon did not ogle a lady.

Andor frowned when he saw Lyssa hesitate at her front door. He opened the car door and stepped out.

“What is it?” Rickman called from the front seat of the car.

“I do not know. Perhaps nothing.”

Lyssa stood in the open doorway of her house without moving. Andor took a step away from the car, ready to run to her aid if she needed it. His muscles tightened and his body grew warm as the dragon inside him roused to alertness. The sounds around him amplified, and his sight and sense of smell heightened as he watched everything that happened at the front of the house. Lyssa gave a shrug of her shoulders and a little shake of her head and stepped inside.

A car door slammed behind him, and Andor kept his eyes on the house as Rickman came to stand beside him.

“What’s going on?”

“Shush.” Andor gave a wave of his hand as he listened. There was no noise coming from inside the house, and although Lyssa had left the front door open, it appeared nothing untoward was happening inside. The skin on the back of his neck prickled, and rubbing it would not make the feeling go away. Some instinct inside him, one as old as he himself, warned him that there was a menace here, even if it could not be seen. “Something is wrong.”

“How do you know?” There was a note of concern in Rickman’s voice. “What should we do?”

Andor opened his mouth to answer when Lyssa screamed from inside the house. With his heart pounding and his blood hot, he raced toward the house. Time seemed to slow as he rushed up the steps of the porch and inside the open door. He had to get to Lyssa and stop whoever had made her scream like that. As soon as he crossed the threshold a scent hit his nostrils, and he knew who was responsible for Lyssa’s distress. Kevin.

Her back was to him as she stood in the open living room doorway, with her hand over her mouth as she stood trembling. Without thinking, he came up behind her and put his hands on her arms. Another scream ripped from her as she turned and struggled against him. Her fists bounced off his chest without doing damage to him. He held on to her, his voice a low soothing murmur and her struggles slowed. Her fists stilled as tremors took over her body.

“Andor?” She looked up at him as tears swam in her green eyes and her lower lip trembled. He did not know what disturbed her, but he wanted to take that look away. Her normally pale skin was blanched so white that it appeared translucent, and he knew that whatever she had encountered in this house had terrified her. He did not bother to look into the room in question, it was not as important as offering her comfort. He kept his gaze steady on hers.

“You are safe.” He ran his hands up and down her arms.

“How could he do it?” Her face crumpled and her head fell forward until her forehead came to rest on his chest. He put his arms around her and held her as he finally tore his eyes away from her to see what had devastated her.

The violent anger Andor had seen in Kevin a week ago was on display in Lyssa’s living room. Broken glass littered the floor, along with several decapitated dragon heads. Kevin had smashed every single glass dragon Lyssa owned. Shredded tatters of dragon artwork was strewn all over the place.

Kevin had not confined himself to destroying Lyssa’s collection. The drawers of her desk were overturned, and the contents dumped out. He had used something to smash her computer, and Andor could see he had slashed the fabric of her sofa with a blade. The real violation of Lyssa came in the form of the words he had scrawled across the wall facing them with a substance that Andor could smell was animal blood. Whore.

“What the hell?”

Lyssa jumped against him when Rickman spoke from beside him, his voice bouncing against the walls in the tomb like silence of the house.

“Kevin has not gone away.” That was an understatement, and as soon as he was assured that Lyssa was safe somewhere other than here, he was going to make sure that he found Kevin. He should have heeded Andor’s warning, because now he had brought down the wrath of a dragon.

Lyssa drew back, her face pale and her body trembling as she swiped her hands across her face. She turned her head to look at the living room again and Andor put his fingers under her chin and turned her back to face him.

“I want you to go outside with Rickman while I look through the rest of the house. Then we will call the police.” He wanted to get Lyssa out of here. Kevin’s scent had gone stale, so Andor did not believe he was still in the house. He wanted to see if he had confined himself to desecrating her living room, or if he had ruined other rooms in the house.

She looked up at him, her eyes huge and she nodded. She turned toward Rickman, keeping her face averted from the living room, and his minion was gentle as he led her from the house. Andor walked down the hall until he came to the kitchen. It appeared clean and tidy, and Kevin’s scent was not in here.

Andor turned and retreated down the hall. The smell of Kevin led him up the stairs and the hardwood floor creaked under his boots as he passed the small bathroom on his way to the bedroom. It was clean, and undisturbed.

Lyssa’s bedroom door stood open only a tiny crack, and it squeaked on its hinges as Andor pushed it open. The stench of blood hit him, and his stomach turned sour. As he stood on the threshold, he could see that Kevin had spent the entirety of his rage on the sanctuary of her bedroom. Andor was glad that he had suggested that she wait outside.

Kevin had used the blood to scrawl more of his filthy thoughts on the walls, but what drew Andor’s attention was the tableau he’d set up in the middle of her bed. He’d stripped off the bedding, and the sheets were soaked with blood. In the center of the bed was the head of a pig with slut scrawled across its head. Andor made a noise of disgust as he turned away.

Heat burned beneath his skin as his hands clenched and unclenched at his side. The primitive beat of his dragon heart sounded in his ears as that part of himself came to life in the fire of protective rage. He stood in the hall for several long moments to bring himself under control. Closing his eyes, he drew in a slow breath, forcing the pounding of his pulse to slow and the tension coiling in his muscles to dissolve.

He knew without looking in a mirror that his irises would have turned from the pale silver of his human form into the wreath of flame that belonged to his dragon form. The dragon inside him woke in response to the threat to the woman it wanted to mate with, and Andor needed to suppress that side of himself.

He would unleash his dragon on Kevin when the time was right, but at this moment Lyssa needed to him to be calm. She had to be feeling violated by Kevin’s horrible intrusion into her home, and she needed all the comfort that Andor could give her. The events that had taken place in this house were enough of a shock, the realization that there was a dragon in her midst would break her.

He brought a picture of her as she had been when she had first seen him at her place work earlier this evening, and as he remembered the shy smile on her face, his heart rate slowed and he could feel the heat of his rage retreating from his body. He blew out a breath, and as he walked by the bathroom he looked in to see himself in the mirror. His eyes were back to normal, and he looked wholly human.

He walked down the stairs and out the front door. Rickman, for all his irreverence toward Andor, had seen the seriousness of their situation and had wisely taken Lyssa away from the house. They stood together in front of the car, and Andor could read the alertness in Rickman’s body. All Andor’s grievances against Rickman were forgiven in that moment, as Rickman stood diligently guarding Lyssa. He may not look like a typical minion, but his instincts to protect her was exactly what was expected of him.

“Did he do anymore damage?” Lyssa looked toward the house, and Andor stepped in front of her.

“He also damaged your bedroom, but you are not to worry about that. Once the police have come and gone, I will have Rickman arrange for cleaners to come in and sort out the mess.” It would take more than soap and water to erase what Lyssa had seen from her memory, but Andor would make sure that at least her house would not show the marks of Kevin’s anger for long. “Rickman, can you call the police?”

“Sure.” Rickman pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and walked around the side of the car. Andor took her hands in his.

“Are you all right?” It was a silly question, because he could see that she was not.

“Not even close.” She looked up at him, and he saw that she had moved on from the devastation she had displayed earlier in to numbness. Her face was blank, and her eyes appeared dull.

“What can I do to help you?” He did not like seeing the defeat in her eyes, and he wanted to urge her to fight it. This was what Kevin wanted, to break her and make her give up her will to thwart him. In his own deranged head, Kevin thought that something like this would terrify her enough into going back with him, if only to make the harassment stop. She could not give in to the despair the scene inside the house would engender in her. “Do not let him win. This is what he wants, to hurt you.”

She gave a bitter laugh. “What can I do? I have a restraining order, and that did nothing. I’ve told him a hundred times that it’s over, that he needs to leave me alone and he won’t go away. He’s shown me today that he can hurt me when I least expect it. He can harm me any time he wants. I feel so alone.”

“But you are not alone, not any more. Kevin will not hurt you, not after today. I will not let it happen.”

He watched her swallow and her lower lip quivered. He did not know what he had said to upset her, and he felt helpless against the tears that trembled on her lower lashes.

“What can I do?” His voice was a whisper. He reached up to cradle her face and his thumbs wiped her tears as the slid down her cheeks.

“Hold on to me.” She drifted toward him and he pulled her to him, putting his arms around her. He held her for the second time that afternoon as the first police car pulled up.