Still compelling.
Still utterly gorgeous.
Still making her knees feel weak and her body tingle and ache with a longing she wanted to succumb to.
But it was an attraction Zoey had to fight, to get away from, if she was going to escape from this situation unscathed. She began to walk away, her gaze fixed on her car.
“To be strictly accurate, we’re dragons that can shift into men,” Hunter spoke softly behind her. “And Edgar Wallis’s research into dragons isn’t just to prove they exist.”
Keep walking, Zoey told herself.Just put one foot in front of the other andwalk away.
“What is it dragons are reputed to have in all the legends and books of fairy tales, Zoey?” Hunter continued to reason, hisvoice slightly raised as she continued toward where her car was parked. “What are they supposed to covet and guard with their lives?”
Zoey gave a derisive huff as she glanced over her shoulder at him. “According to you, their one true mate.”
“Yes, and once we meet her, she becomes our everything and we protect her absolutely,” he agreed, back on his feet. “But what else is a dragon reputed to have in all the myths and legends you’ve read or heard about them?”
Zoey wanted to keep walking. Wanted nothing more than to keep to her decision to get in her car and drive away. Probably back to London, because the thought of returning to Tregarthen House and the company of her Uncle Edgar no longer held any appeal, the temptation of eating cottage pie be damned.
But she couldn’t ignore what Hunter was saying, so instead, she turned to face him. “I have no idea. What is it that dragons covet and guard so intensely?”
“Their treasure.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You mean like emeralds and diamonds and pearls? That sort of treasure?”
He nodded. “Every kind of jewel you can think of, yes. And gold. Lots and lots of gold,” he added with relish.
Zoey blinked as she saw the sudden blaze of what looked like the appearance of golden flames in the depths of Hunter’s dark brown eyes.
She gave a firm shake of her head, sure she must have imagined it. “It sounds very much to me as if you’re saying the reason myuncle is searching for the existence of dragons is so that he can steal their hoard of gems and gold.”
“That’s exactlywhat I’m saying.” Hunter’s jaw tightened merely thinking of the lengths Wallis was willing to go to in order to achieve that objective. Murder amongst them.
The thought of the other man ever harming Zoey caused a low growl to reverberate around his chest.
“Do you and your brothers have a hoard?” Zoey’s eyes were wide, the green iris completely surrounded by white as she stared at him unblinkingly.
“Both collectively and individually,” Hunter confirmed.
“Where— Sorry.” She winced. “I shouldn’t ask you that.”
Once they were mates, Hunter’s hoard would also be Zoey’s. For now, for her own safety, it was better if she didn’t know where Hunter and his brothers stored their treasure.
“Edgar Wallis has already become a thief and a murderer,” Hunter rasped. “So I’m sure he will feel no qualms about stealing a dragon’s hoard.”
Zoey’s throat moved as she swallowed before speaking. “What did he steal?”
Hunter grimaced. “A journal Belle discovered at the bottom of a box, along with several others, she bought at an auction of a deceased person’s house contents shortly before Christmas.”
Zoey smiled. “I know she likes to go to those. I went with her a couple of times last summer,” she reminisced fondly. “It wasn’t really my thing, but I think she appreciated the company.”
He nodded. “One of the journals Belle accidentally bought at this particular sale had been written by a nun from the twelfth century who claimed to have met three warriors in the Scottish Highlands who could shift into dragons.”
Zoey winced. “Don’t tell me, she was writing about you and your brothers?”
“She was,” he confirmed. “We had rescued her from being a human sacrifice left out by the people of her village as tribute so the dragons would protect their crops and bring good luck to their hunting. We don’t eat, nor have we ever eaten, humans.”
Zoey gave a choked laugh. “That’s good to know.”
